The Rangen de Thann is the most southerly of the Alsace
vineyards. In his book “Where Alsace wines ripen” Henry Riegert writes:
“from the Middle Ages those wines
which ripen on the Rangen hillside figure amongst the most famous growths of the
whole vineyard region.”
History:
The Rangen already appears in history towards the 12th and 13th
century. It rapidly acquires this great reputation due to the exceptional
quality of its wines. There is no doubt that vines were planted here earlier,
however the first important transactions relating to parcels of this vineyard
are only found from the following dates:
1291 following Act of 13 June, the Dominican Convent of
Basle owns 4 scadi (16 hectares) of vines in the Rangen
1292 following Act of 6 July, the Masmunster Abbey owns vines
here. The St Ursitz of Einsiden Convent, the Cistercian Abbey of Haute Seille in
Meurthe & Moselle are also owners.
1296 in December, Burchard zum Rosen of Basle buys vines ‘in
banno ville Tanne in monto diste Rangen’ Many vintages are described by lovers
of fine wines. The good years, the less good and the most difficult years follow
each other. Malachias Tschamser is never-ending on the subject in The Great
Thann Chronicle:
1186 Harvest in August!
1232 Extremely good, it’s so hot you could fry an egg in the
sand
1274 Harvest had to wait until November
1347 Bad year
1431 Such an abundant harvest that with all the barrels full,
wine was used to make mortar!
The wine from Rangen was always easy to sell. From the earliest times, the Collegiate of Thann, Saint
Theobald, was a place of pilgrimage attracting a huge number of foreigners from
Germany, England, Denmark and the Scandinavian countries. During the Middle
Ages, monastic life being also very active, monks arrived in large numbers,
prayed but also tasted the wine from Rangen and finding it very good, praised it
on their return home.
In 1628 in Dr Claudius Deodatus’ the “Pantheum Hygistticum” the finest Alsace wines are noted
including the Rangen de Thann.
During the reign of Empress Maria Theresa, the Rangen wine was consumed at Court and enjoyed an
exceptional reputation. A private tutor to the family of the princes of
Lowenberg and also introduced to the imperial palace, stated that more Rangen
wine was drunk in Vienna that the whole of Thann and its surrounding area could
produce. (Barth).
Its locality:
Among the Rangen’s characteristics we should note for information the comments of M Bernard (IVCC of
Dijon):
“The Thur river running at the foot of the vineyard explains the scarcity
of spring frosts in the lower part, on the one hand, through the specific heat
from its man-made lake, and on the other by the emission of a vapour which forms
a screen and stands in the way of radiation. The annual rain fall is in the
region of 945 mm over a period of around 100 days.”
The soil structure of this famous locality is a very particular one and absolutely unique in Alsace.
Dating from the Devonian/Carboniferous era, it is made up of volcanic rocks and
sedimentary sandstones with a varying abundance of volcanic elements. It is
strewn with stones eroded from hard rocks – growackes, volcanic tufa, and a rock
flow of brown micaceous andesite. This layer has a thickness of around 40 to 60
cm above the fissured country rock, which allows the vine roots to penetrate to
a greater depth.
This type of terrain and the soil depth characterize a poor environment, low in clay content (15%) and
therefore favourable to quality. The dark colour of the soil, a shadeof
reddish-brown, lends itself to higher soil temperatures. The full south-facing
aspect of the vineyard increases the amount of direct daylight giving the vines
a privileged position on the steep Rangen hillside (70% on average), which has
dictated the choice of terraced planting. The Rangen is a late-ripening
vineyard, but its exceptional exposition allows the grapes to mature slowly in
October and November thus making it possible to achieve very high levels of
concentration.
 
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This type of terrain and the soil depth
characterize a poor environment, low in clay content (15%) and therefore
favourable to quality. The dark colour of the soil, a shadeof reddish-brown,
lends itself to higher soil temperatures. The full south-facing aspect of the
vineyard increases the amount of direct daylight giving the vines a privileged
position on the steep Rangen hillside (70% on average), which has dictated the
choice of terraced planting.
The Rangen is a late-ripening vineyard, but its exceptional exposition allows the grapes to mature slowly
in October and November thus making it possible to achieve very high levels of
concentration.
The grape varieties:
Going back in history, we can observe that in the
16th century grape varieties such as the Muscat and Traminer were known in the
Rangen. White wines dominated but there were also red wines. The whites were
more highly thought of and were better than the reds.
At the same period the town of Thann had a law concerning the varieties planted in the Rangen, decrees of
1548 and 1581 contain paragraphs defining certain rules of production. According
to these rules, it was expressly forbidden to mix the Rangen wine with other
wines and keep the name Rangen on the label. It was also prohibited the plant
varieties that were not noble varieties such as the “Rheinelbe”. Whoever
infringed this law – be he from Thann or elsewhere – was punished and his vines
pulled up. (Statutes published in the bulletin of the Belfortaine society).
Elsewhere in the Vineyards of Alsace, Lucius writes: “The best known vineyards, those of Rangen,
Kitterlé Brand are even planted with ordinary varieties. The wine lacks
character, it is the bouquet resulting from the soil which gives it merit.”
The Thann vineyard was admired by the philosopher Michel de Montaigne, during his grand journey across
Europe.:
“Thann 4 leagues. First town in Germany, subject to the emperor, very fine, wide plain flanked on the
left hand side with hillsides covered in vines, the finest and the best
cultivated and so extensive that the Gascons who were there said they had never
seen so many in succession.”
From then on, the road running through the Rangen has been known as the Chemin de Montaigne. Today, we
exploit 3 ha of pinot gris, 2.1 ha of Riesling and 0.4 ha of gewürztraminer in
the Rangen.
Its poetry :
Numerous poets have sung the praises of the wine from Rangen. Fischart in Garagantua (1607):
“Yes in the Rangen lives Saint Rango, he takes the row and struggles so much till he rolls under the
bench.” “Ja der Wein zu Dann, des Rangenweines, das steckt der Heylig Sanct
Rango, der nimmt den Rang und ringt so lang, biss er einen ränt und trengt unter
die Bänck.”
Munster writes in his Cosmography of Thann:
“Thann a fine town belongs to the Seigneurs of Ferret and a chateau on the Engelburg mountain and near
the town a hillside called Rang where a delectable wine grows called Rangen
Wine” He carries on bragging about the diabolical effects of this wine.
Sebastien Brant, the well known Strasbourg poet is at the origin of a legend about the arms of Colmar
inspired by the wine of Rangen which he so appreciated:
During a journey across Europe Hercules arrived from Xeres in Spain, via the Loire and Burgundy, in
Alsace. Here, he wished to taste wines at the Zum Wilden Mann Inn. The innkeeper
offered him a wine from Riquewihr which he found good but quite flat, he wanted
a fuller bodied wine. Sothe innkeeper suggested a wine from the Rangen. He
thought it so extraordinarily good that he consumed three bottles and said:
Das ist ein Schluk, potzt Element, Wie der in Kehl’ und Magen brennt ! Herr Wirt, Ich Sag’s auf meine
Ehr,Ich fand noch keinen Wien so Schwehr ! Then he fell asleep in a corner. When
he woke up he left as fast as his legs could carry him forgetting the club he
always had at his side. He so feared the strength of the Rangen wine that he
never returned to collect it. Since then this club features prominently in the
arms of Colmar. Als sich die Weld begann zu dreh’n, Im Eck er liess die Keule
steh’n, Hat Sie auch nicht geholt bis Heut, Weil er den ‘Thanner Rangen’ scheut.
Literature, odes, songs, poems on the subject of the Rangen wine abound. The
splendour and strength of this sublime wine is celebrated by numerous authors
including Barth who gives us a magnificent recapitulation in his book “Der
Rebbau im Elsass”. No other appellation has ever been at the origin of such
beautiful verses.
The Clos Saint Urbain:
The town of Thann has always held a cult and a particularly profound devotion to this saint. At the end
of the 15th century a chapel in honour of Saint Urbain was built in the heart of
the Rangen vineyard. Every year a procession made its way up to it on Saint
Urbain’s feast day, the main participants being wine growers and innkeepers
together with other members of the faithful. Along the route the Litany of
Saints was sung but also with a special litany to Saint Urbain, known nowhere
else but at Thann:
“Saint Urbain, work companion and helper to all the priests of the Lord’s
vineyard, Pray for us! Saint Urbain, guardian and protector of all the vineyards
and orchards, Pray for us! Saint Urbain, Patron saint of wine growers and
innkeepers, Pray for us! From drink and drunkenness, Deliver us, Lord! From the
devastation of tempest and frost, Deliver us, Lord!”
This chapel was restored in 1774. During the French revolution it was completely destroyed by the
populace. Since 1934, a new chapel dedicated to Saint Urbain protects anew this
marvellous hillside.
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