Weinbach Alsace Altenbourg Pinot Noir 2021

Weinbach Alsace Altenbourg Pinot Noir is the limestone-grown counterpart to the domaine's granitic Schlossberg bottling.

Domaine Weinbach farms from the Clos des Capucins at Kaysersberg and works its vineyards biodynamically. Altenbourg is a limestone-based site on the lower slopes near Kientzheim, long valued for its late-ripening whites and now the source of one of the estate's two single-site Pinot Noirs. Eddy Faller describes the wine as more velvety in structure than the Schlossberg version, and the winemaking is deliberately kept almost identical between the two so that the difference in soil comes through clearly. That regime runs to a ten-day cold soak, up to a fortnight on skins, partial whole-bunch fermentation and extended ageing in predominantly old oak. The plantings are dense, at 10,000 vines per hectare, and were established from mass selections taken from the Clos des Epeneaux in Pommard, which explains something of the Burgundian cast of the wine.

Approachable now and worth keeping eight to ten years; it suits roast duck, coq au vin or a mild washed-rind cheese, served at 16-18°C.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.