Christophe Lindenlaub
The Lindenlaub wines smack of so much life they might have you believe the domaine is fresh on the scene. Yet Christophe Lindenlaub’s roots speak to a long lineage of Alsatian farming—spanning all the way back to 1759 in the large village of Dorlisheim in the Bas-Rhin, located along the Alsace wine route about 20 km to the west and a touch south of Strasbourg.
In the 70s, Christophe’s father Jacques decided to start bottling the family’s wines. At the time, they were still raising livestock such as cows on their estate and it wasn’t until 1986 that they plunged fully into winemaking. Christophe arrived on the scene in 1999 to work alongside his father and forge a defined path for the domaine. In 2009, they concluded that organic was the way to go, making it official with certification in 2012.
Healthy grapes are only half the story. In 2014, Christophe decided to forgo sulfur in the cellar, and his lineup now offers a taste of his personality: unfined, unfiltered and brimming with energy. Christophe’s exuberance translates to each bottle. Think of him like a French version of the Fantastic Mr. Fox — constantly singing, dancing, lobbing riddles over your head — and you’ll understand his wines. They shimmer, delight and elude quick definition, yielding instead to the zen ENSO circle which orbits each label.