2020 Domaine Laurent Barth, Pinots, Vin d’Alsace, France.
Made from a unique combination of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois, the Laurent Barth Pinots is a bright pale gold hued and crisply dry Alsace white with subtle and stony aromatics and a citrus and stone fruited lighter framed wine. Barth does a Pinot d’Alsace too, which is mostly Pinot Auxerrois with tiny amounts of Gris and Pinot Noir, depending on vintage, but this one usually contains all the different Pinots, hence the name and it is a more curious and all organic wine with tangy dry extract and apple, lemon, peach and fleshy melon fruits, a touch of spice, mineral, bitter almond, wet stone and a light dusting of wild herbs. Alsace has a warm and sunny Continental climate, sheltered from rain by Vosges mountains and vineyards are set on a complex set of soils, including clay and marl, alluvial soil, marl and limestone, sandstone, quartz and some granite. Barth has mostly preferred hillside vineyards up at around 250-300m above sea level. I’ve only tried a few things so far from the talented Laurent Barth, including this one most recently, but I’ve been impressed and I look forward to exploring more of his collection, especially his Grand Cru Rieslings, which are supposed to be outstanding. This fun white show more concentration in this vintage than might be expected, but remains fresh and best enjoyed sooner v. later. Imported by Louis/Dressner, Lauent Barth’s wines are still hard to find rarities, but they are well worth searching out, especially as they haven’t gotten out of hand price wise and are lovely efforts.
Laurent Barth’s estate in Bennwhir, north of Colmar, has around 4ha planted with the seven traditional varietals, on 25 different plots out of which he makes 10 to 14 different cuvées each year.Taking over his father’s vines in 1999 Laurent had to wait for 5 years and the end of the coop’s contract for the grapes to make the first wine under his name. He did a full organic conversion of the domaine as well as its reorganization, and he sold some vineyards on flat lands to focus on his best sites including the Grand Cru Marckrain. He now follows biodynamic principles, and also acquired a splendid parcel in the prestigious Schlossberg Grand Cru, where he devotes a lot of his time working the steep and granitic slope. After winemaking in Lebanon, India, South Africa, Australia and California, Barh returned home to his family’s estate and is making a name for himself. In the cellar, the wines are crafted with natural processes with the grapes cooled down before being processed, with indigenous yeast fermentation and aging occuring in a mix of stainless steel, old barrels and stunning traditional foudres (made in 1935 with oak from the near by Vosges forest). The secondary malo-lactic fermentation happens naturally, and a very low bit of sulphur is added at bottling, making for authentic and transparent wines, as seen here. Alsace is seeing a complete reimagining with a new focus on field blended wines, a new push into deeper Pinot Noir reds, while not forgetting classics, like Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and the likes, it is a good time to take a new look at the region.
($28 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive