When I arrived in Strasbourg some 25 years ago, in France’s northeast, I could not have imagined Pinot Noir from Alsace standing up to fine Pinot Noir wines from Oregon in the US northwest or New Zealand, let alone fine Burgundy, in a blind tasting.
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. 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.
This story is from the January 2024 edition of Decanter.
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This story is from the January 2024 edition of Decanter.
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