Miles' Pick

Domaine Marcel Deiss has long been at the vanguard of a regeneration in Alsace. Deiss champions the ancestral practice of complantation, where various grape varieties are grown, harvested, and vinified together to emphasize terroir over individual varietals. The family-run winery, now led by Mathieu and Jean-Michel Deiss, is a staunch advocate for biodynamic viticulture, focusing on low yields and "viticulture of the living" to restore the most authentic expression of the soil. Their Le Jeu des Verts 2022 is a complex "orange wine" made through skin maceration of a field blend primarily consisting of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Noir from the marl-rich Gruenspiel vineyard. This vintage presents a striking salmon-orange hue and opens with an aromatic nose of redcurrants, sour cherry, and dried flowers. On the palate, this wine is an "iron hand in a velvet glove," offering a dry, powerful structure with fine tannins, vibrant acidity, and notes of lime, mint, and saline minerality.