Domaine Weinbach is one of the great producers in Alsace.  Like many wineries in France, the estate was once run by monks, in this case Capuchins, having been founded in 1612.   As was the case with many monestary-owned wineries, it was taken over as national property during the French Revolution.

The domaine was acquired by the Faller brothers in 1898, who handed it down to the next generation.   Théo Faller, in charge, was instrumental in getting Alsace to be an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée.     After his death in 1979 his wife and daughters took over the 62-acre estate, and it has been continuously run by them.

Weinbach's winery is situated near Kayserberg, northeast of Colmar but south of Riquewihr.  Some of their most prized wines are grown from the Grand Cru plots of Furstentum, Mambourg, and Schlossberg, three out of the fifty-0ne plots in Alsace.  

Cuvée Ste. Catherine is sourced from the lower slopes of Schlossberg Grand Cru, not to be confused with Schlossberg Cuvée Ste. Catherine, an even more concentrated wine harvested from the upper slopes of the Grand Cru plot.  The Schlossberg vineyard is known for granite and sandy soils that are rich in minerals.  

The nose was very minerally and stony but with some fruit and floral aromas with a slight hint of petrol nose and a rich, golden color, partially the result of late harvesting, but definitely a bit of a brighter style and a bit more fruit forward for an Alsatian Riesling, almost in a style of a Gewürztraminer.   On the tounge this was very minerally with good acid and notes of canned pears, green apples, amd lemons,  but with a dry, clean finish, though there did seem to be a bit of residual sugar.   A very lush mouthfeel and a very young wine for being  seven years old–it can only improve with age, and this would do well to age for perhaps another five to ten years.  

I believe the retail price was $45.  To the best of my knowledge there are still bottles available at Howard's Wine Cellar.

–Brian Ziegler