Domaine Josmeyer
Our first taste of Josmeyer was a happy accident at Le Petit Bidon, during our very first meal in Colmar. The sommelier poured us the Gewurztraminer Libre Sous Le Ciel, and from the first sip, we were hooked. Dry, original and beautifully structured, it carried finesse and elegance, with a moderate extraction that gave it both personality and grace. The nose was a heady dance of bitter orange, apricot, and rose petals, while the palate revealed the grape’s aromatic soul wrapped in a tannic, saline structure that hinted at distant horizons. We loved it so much, we immediately knew, we had to visit.
On our last day in Alsace, we made that visit and met Isabelle, one of the two sisters now helming the winery. She led us through a flight of Josmeyer wines, a tour of the cellar, and shared stories of their family’s legacy. While Isabelle is the winemaker, she is also an artist, her creative energy spilling from the barrel room to the wine labels themselves. Some of her work graces the Artist Series bottles, and others live as whimsical drawings on century-old wooden beams in the cellar.
She spoke of their vineyards, organically and biodynamically farmed since 2004, spreading across 90 plots, from the marl-limestone slopes of Grand Cru Hengst to the granite-rich Brand. The wines ferment naturally, at their own pace, watched over by century-old casks. And she recited words that felt less like a history and more like a love letter:
"At the heart of it all is our beating heart."
We left that afternoon carrying more than just a few crates of Josmeyer wines. We carried the memory of Isabelle’s warmth, the poetry woven into their philosophy, and the lingering taste of wines that are as much art as they are terroir.
