Summary
Arthur Metz is one of the best-known wine houses in Alsace and above all an address for Crémant d'Alsace. Founded in 1904, the house is based today in Marlenheim in the Bas-Rhin, right where the Alsace Wine Route begins. Arthur Metz combines two roles: it is a classic négociant buying grapes and wines from around 650 partner growers farming more than 1,000 hectares – and at the same time a producer with roughly 85 hectares of its own vineyards, from which wines of 15 Alsace Grands Crus are made. That mix of scale and single-site work makes the house one of the most important ambassadors of Alsace wine in export markets.
History
The story begins in 1904, when Arthur Metz founded his wine house in Epfig in Alsace. Over the following decades the family built up the business as a négociant, for a time with a base in Paris, before the operation returned fully to Alsace in the 1970s.
The second turning point came in 1991: the Helfrich family of entrepreneurs took over Arthur Metz and folded the house into Les Grands Chais de France, one of the largest wine marketers in the country. In 1997 came the link with the Marlenheim house of Laugel, founded in 1895 – Marlenheim has been the headquarters ever since.
From 2011 the profile changed fundamentally once more: Arthur Metz began buying its own estates in Alsace, among them properties in Barr and Colmar, turning a pure merchant house into a producer with its own vineyards. Most recently the house has invested heavily in Crémant production; a modern cellar building in Marlenheim covering around 6,000 square metres provides storage capacity for roughly 12 million bottles.
Location & Terroir
Marlenheim lies around 20 kilometres west of Strasbourg in the northernmost corner of Alsace viticulture – in the area traditionally called the Couronne d'Or, the Golden Crown. This is where the Route des Vins d'Alsace starts, running north to south for a good 170 kilometres.
Alsace benefits from a quirk of geography: the Vosges mountains shield the vineyard slopes from the west and make the area one of the driest and sunniest in France. That combination of plenty of sun, little rain and cool nights produces whites with intense aromatics and still lively acidity.
Directly above Marlenheim sits the Steinklotz grand cru, the northernmost grand cru in Alsace. Its shallow limestone soils over compact rock stand for taut, mineral Rieslings and spicy Pinots. In total Arthur Metz works with grapes from 15 different Grands Crus – the soil spectrum runs from limestone through granite and sandstone to marl.
Style & Philosophy
The heart of the house is Crémant d'Alsace: sparkling wine made by traditional bottle fermentation, usually based on Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, rounded out with Chardonnay and Riesling. The base wines are picked early to keep freshness and moderate alcohol; lees ageing runs from around a year to several years for the prestige bottlings. The result is approachable, fine-beaded sparkling wine with citrus, apple and brioche – far cheaper than Champagne, but stylistically related.
For still wines the house aims at typical Alsace clarity: single-variety bottlings, fermented in stainless steel, the grape's aroma to the fore. Riesling arrives dry and taut, Gewürztraminer opulent and spicy with rose and lychee, Pinot Gris smoky and broad. For the single-site wines and the sweet Vendanges Tardives the team works plot by plot to make origin taste like something.
In the vineyard the house has committed to sustainability: its own plots are certified to the French HVE 3 standard, and parts are being converted to organic farming.
Notable Sites & Wines
- Steinklotz – the home grand cru above Marlenheim, limestone-driven, Riesling and Pinot Gris
- Crémant d'Alsace Brut and Rosé – the classics and, by volume, the backbone
- Cuvée 1904 – prestige Crémant, named after the founding year
- Crémant ICE – a slightly sweeter sparkling wine designed for ice cubes, launched in 2014
- Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris from various Grands Crus
- Vendanges Tardives – late-harvested sweet specialities
Awards
Arthur Metz is regularly listed in French wine guides, among them the Guide Hachette des Vins, and collects medals at competitions such as the Concours Général Agricole in Paris and the Concours des Crémants. More telling than individual trophies, though, is the house's role as market leader: a noticeable share of the Crémant d'Alsace sold worldwide comes from Marlenheim. Arthur Metz therefore shapes the picture that many wine drinkers outside France have of Alsace sparkling wine.