Expert’s Choice: Alsace Pinot Noir
A blind tasting of 2019-vintage wines showed that this classic yet sometimes overlooked French region is now more than capable of matching better-known, quality Pinot Noir-producing areas.
Pinot Noir has been known in Alsace since the Middle Ages. It once flourished, but war and conflict reduced it to just 2% of regional production by 1969.
Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 18 Alsace Pinot Noir wines to try
By the 1990s, it was often boring, lacking the spicy, earthy nuance and beguiling, perfume-like cherry characters encountered in great Burgundy, the world standard. Instead I remember thin, weedy reds served in pitchers at local restaurants. Aside from a handful of producers, Pinot Noir was not taken seriously, and the official Alsace Grand Cru appellation of 1975 (revised in 1983) excluded Pinot Noir.
Much has changed in recent years, capped by the announcement in 2022 by the French national appellation authority INAO that two grand cru terroirs – Hengst and Kirchberg de Barr – could henceforth include Pinot Noir as a grand cru variety, starting with the 2022 vintage.
The clay-limestone soils of these two grands crus are successful for Pinot Noir, many say. There is also talk of other grand cru terroirs being worthy of Pinot Noir in the future, including the limestone, clay and iron-rich soils of Grand Cru Vorbourg.
Find your style
Aside from terroir, production methods have changed to improve quality. ‘We make Pinot Noir differently than 20 years ago,’ says Marc Beyer, 13th generation of the Léon Beyer estate in Eguisheim. ‘With longer macerations and reduced yields, we are focusing on making better reds,’ he says.
A blind tasting held in October 2023 of 27 Alsace Pinot Noir wines from the 2019 vintage proves that Alsace Pinot Noir can be a delicious, aromatically driven wine that varies in style from delicate and elegant, which I prefer, to more structured and powerful examples which require cellaring.
The tasting included four quality ‘pirates’, which performed expectedly well: Eyrie Vineyards, Sisters Vineyard Pinot Noir from Dundee Hills in Oregon (priced about £47 retail); Villa Maria, Single Vineyard Taylors Pass Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand (£30-£34); Weingut Knipser, Kirschgarten Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs from Pfalz, Germany (£55-£65); and Domaine Marc Roy, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes from Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits, France (about £80 for recent vintages). While some of the Alsace Pinot Noirs lacked comparative excitement to make the cut, others showed that Alsace Pinot Noir can not only hold its own, but even outperform these other highly reputed regions.
The 2019 vintage exhibits a more classical style in Alsace, in the modern context: not as hot as 2022 or 2018, but a warm vintage. 2019 is also considered very good in Burgundy, Germany, New Zealand and Oregon, so the horizontal tasting of that vintage was equitable.
Alsace Pinot Noir: 18 to try
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Albert Mann, Les Saintes Claires Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Seductive black cherry, peony and fresh earth aromatics set in motion a svelte palate with verve, leading to a wonderfully long finish marked by refreshing...
2019
Albert Mann
Muré, Clos Saint Landelin Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
A classy wine. Pure Pinot with indelible leafy earth, bright and ripe red cherry and subtle floral aromatics presaging pristine finesse, subtle palate density and...
2019
Muré
Domaine Kirrenbourg, Jardin des Oiseaux Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Seductive aromas of cherry liqueur and wild strawberry, excellent palate sap, density and a long cool finish. The top Pinot Noir from this estate, with...
2019
Domaine Kirrenbourg
Domaine Marcel Deiss, Burlenberg La Colline Brûlée Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Pinot Noir blended with co-planted Pinots Beurot, Meunier, Blanc and Gris. Gorgeous aromatics of cherry and summer berries introduce a bright attack. Nuanced depth and...
2019
Domaine Marcel Deiss
Domaine Weinbach, Altenbourg Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Appealing aromatics of subtle cherry and white flower presage delicate balance, a silky yet juicy palate with fine acidity. Among the most elegant wines tasted,...
2019
Domaine Weinbach
Emile Beyer, Lieu-dit Sundel Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
With particularly engaging violet and cherry aromas, this wine exudes ripe fruit, earthiness and verve from noticeable acidity on the finish. Cooler clay limestone soils...
2019
Emile Beyer
Meyer-Fonné, Altenbourg Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
In the blind tasting, this wine followed the excellent Oregon Pinot Noir, itself an Old World style from vines on limestone soil. The Meyer Fonné...
2019
Meyer-Fonné
Muré, V Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Nearly as exciting as the pricier Clos Saint Landelin of the same producer, this light-toned wine reveals wonderful red cherry, blueberry, violet, leafy and subtly...
2019
Muré
Paul Ginglinger, Les Rocailles Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Made from carefully selected grapes in plots corresponding to the grand cru Eichberg, this reveals rose petal and red cherry fruit in a smooth palate,...
2019
Paul Ginglinger
Albert Mann, Grand H Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Cool wild strawberry, tart raspberry, white pepper and tobacco leaf aromatics. A most accessible and balanced wine offering immediate pleasure, its juicy palate is marked...
2019
Albert Mann
Domaine Hurst, Coeur de Dragon Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
A savoury wine reflecting the freshness of black cherry and blackberry fruit with earthy Pinot appeal. The palate has zing, almost rhubarb tart but very...
2019
Domaine Hurst
Domaine Saint-Rémy, H Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Cherry and raspberry aromas precede an engagingly warm, yet still high-toned palate with tannic finesse, albeit unresolved at present. A touch of coffee comes through,...
2019
Domaine Saint-Rémy
Léon Beyer, Comtes d'Eguisheim Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Pleasing aromas of blackberry and blackcurrant introduce an almost burly palate with concentration and length. Insiders say that this Pinot Noir, hailing predominantly from clay...
2019
Léon Beyer
Boeckel, Les Terres Rouges Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Initially closed, time in glass yields sous bois and tree bark aromas with black cherry. The deep, concentrated palate is a veritable mouthful of wine,...
2019
Boeckel
Domaine Barmès-Buecher, Vieilles Vignes Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
A warmer expression of Pinot Noir that yields ripe, fruit-forward pleasure. The smoothly textured palate includes notes of coriander and fennel to complement the ripe...
2019
Domaine Barmès-Buecher
Domaine Weinbach, S Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
This wine evinces some austerity with reductive aspects that require aeration – be sure to give it some time in a carafe, and this will...
2019
Domaine Weinbach
Cave De Ribeauville, Rodern Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
Aromas of cherry liqueur and earthy smokiness precede a palate of blackberry and cherry with grape skin-like tannic intensity, but not overbearing. That the cooperative...
2019
Cave De Ribeauville
Schoenheitz, Linsenberg Pinot Noir, Alsace, France, 2019
If the aromatics are initially steely, the ripe cherry palate conveys some headiness as the granite soils seemed to lend warmth in this vintage, resulting...
2019
Schoenheitz
