Forty kilometers south of Strasbourg is Reichsfeld, where Bernard and Arthur Bohn – father and son – cultivate the vineyards of the Domaine Bohn of the same name. The village is located in a valley, protected from tourism around Andlau by the Ungersberg. Wine has been made in this area since the twelfth century, when the Count of Andlau planted the first vines here, after which Cistercian monks were responsible for the wines of the area for a long time. Even in the past, the area was already known for high quality wines, as evidenced by the writings of Doctor Claudius Deodatus, who wrote in 1628 that Reichsfeld's wines were among the best in Alsace.
The Bohn family has owned vines in Reichsfeld for three hundred years now, although the plots have changed over time. Where they used to have mainly small pieces of land scattered across the valley, the domain now consists - by exchanging and inheriting pieces of land - of five hectares of vines on the steep hills of the Schieferberg (also known as 'Schieferberg'), with another four hectares spread about the area. As indicated by the name, the soil here mainly consists of slate. The terroir and climate of the area is strongly pronounced in the wines of Domaine Bohn, resulting in a beautiful minerality and freshness.
Over the past thirty years, Bernard and Arthur's working method has been shaped by a return to the viticultural techniques of their ancestors before 1940. For example, they do not add sulphites to the 'Par nAthur' wines and only use natural fermentation. Biodynamic farming and nature conservation are fundamental to the domain's philosophy. They do not plow the vineyards and grow crops between the vines to create a healthy ecological balance. In order to produce only the highest quality grapes, they deliberately keep the harvests low and the grapes are only harvested manually. In addition, they take the time to let the wines mature. This ensures that the wines of Domaine Bohn can be drunk now, but can also remain in the cupboard or cellar for years to come.
