Expert's Choice: Alsace Pinot Noir

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.

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