Schoenenbourg is an Alsace Grand Cru vineyard which lines the south-facing hillside above the communes of Riquewihr and Zellenberg in Alsace, north-eastern France. At 131 acres (53ha), it is one of the largest of Alsace's 51 Grand Cru sites.
Schoenenbourg is very much at the core of Alsace's prime vineyard belt, located in a crop of about ten Grand Crus between the towns of Colmar and Ribeauville. These sites occupy an area slightly removed from the lower slopes of the Vosges Mountains, where most of the other Alsace Grand Crus are to be found. The topography here changes somewhat, losing the concise transition between slopes and plains demonstrated elsewhere. This situation is mirrored (albeit less obviously) around Eguisheim on the southern side of Colmar, particularly in the lower sections of Eichberg and Pfersigberg.
The result of the more sprawling topography around Schoenenbourg is that the Grand Crus are highly varied in their shape and size. Smaller sites like Sporen and Mandelberg are squeezed onto smaller patches of land with favorable aspects, while larger sites such as the famous Schlossberg and the combined might of Mambourg and Marckrain capitalize on the unusually long stretches of sunny, south-facing hillsides. Schoenenbourg sits stoutly in the second category, occupying a large expanse of hillside stretching all the way from Riquewihr to Zellenberg.
The Schoenenbourg slopes rise steeply from 870ft to 1245ft (265m–380m) above the northern walls of Riquewihr. Their southerly aspect means that the vines get maximum exposure to sunshine in the morning and early afternoon, allowing them to reach optimal ripeness during the growing season.
The soils are highly varied across this long, thin site, leading to variability in Schoenenbourg wines depending on the exact parcels of land where the grapes were grown. Marlstone, locally called Keuper after the geological period of the same name, is a dominant soil type, often covered by a fine layer of sandstone. The more unusual soil component here is the gypsum which litters the site, deposited when oceans covered the area during the Jurassic period more than 150 million years ago. This brings a particular combination of mineral richness to the soils, as well as a higher water-retention rate – the secret behind the success of botrytized wines from Schoenenbourg, sold under the title Selections de Grains Nobles.
The climate throughout Alsace is of continental type, with particularly low rainfall – a result of the rain shadow cast by the Vosges. The mountains also provide protection from the prevailing westerly winds, making the Alsatian summer one of the driest and warmest in the northern half of France. At the other end of the temperature scale, the winters here are cold; it is not uncommon to see Alsace vineyards lined with snow.
Apart from a few notable exceptions, all Alsace Grand Cru wines are varietals and may be made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris or Muscat. Schoenenbourg is best known for its Rieslings, particularly the sweeter variants.
