Perhaps you’ve noticed that we’ve been on a serious ‘value-for-dollar’ kick lately. From the Châteauneuf-du-Pape disguised as a Côtes-du-Rhône to the Chablis-grown sparkler that drinks like a Champagne, we keep finding wines that taste way more expensive than they actually are.
Well, the hits keep on coming, this time in the form of an Alsatian Pinot Noir that thinks it’s a Burgundy. Kudos to the Rieflé family, whose organic winemaking roots in Alsace go back six generations: a Pinot Noir of this level of complexity, rarity, and class, at what amounts to an everyday-drinking price, is a phenomenal achievement. This is one of the best Pinot Noir values we’ve ever offered at SommSelect.
This is an atypical Pinot Noir in every way, starting with its tall, slender Alsatian bottle and continuing with a flavor profile that summons some of the savor and spice of red Burgundy along with some of the plumpness and silken texture of a New World Pinot. Blind-tasting this wine would prove challenging for even the most experienced tasters – there’s no doubt it’s Pinot Noir, but from where? Despite being grown in France’s northeastern corner, near the northern limit of where viticulture is possible in Europe, this is not some lean, edgy, ‘cold-climate’ red but rather a wine of surprising generosity and depth.
But perhaps it shouldn’t be so surprising. The soils around the villages of Pfaffenheim and Rouffach, where Rieflé’s vineyards are concentrated, are considered some of the best in all of Alsace for Pinot Noir (the only red grape authorized for use in the Alsace AOC, it accounts for only about 9% of vineyard plantings in the zone). Rieflé’s Pinot Noir sites are a mix of sedimentary loess and clay marls, with the common denominator being a healthy percentage of limestone to help preserve acidity and heighten minerality. Situated on the eastern foothills of the Vosges mountains, which protect it from storms from the west, Alsace enjoys exceptionally dry, relatively hot summers – not exactly the ‘marginal’ climate we’re inclined to expect given its northerly latitude.
In any case, with Alsace wine production being overwhelmingly white, Pinot Noir from the region hasn’t developed much of a commercial foothold – which in this case works to our great advantage! Each time I revisit this wine I pick up something new: there’s a mulchy, spicy savor reminiscent of nettles, which I typically associate with ‘Germanic’ Pinot Noirs from places like Austria or the Alto Adige, and yet there’s also some of the classic cherry kirsch/wild strawberry aromatics that might place it in Burgundy. The texture is more silken than edgy, more plump than lean, but it is in no way jammy. This is a really elegant, balanced, totally unique Pinot Noir, with the slightest kiss of toast from 10 months’ aging in French oak barrels. We were intrigued to see that the Rieflés didn’t go immediately to a choucroute or some other Old School Alsatian classic when suggesting pairings for this wine, but rather to a
Moroccan-style lamb tagine. Who are we to disagree? Here’s one to try out with this ethereal spice box of a red, which should be served at or around cellar temperature in Burgundy stems for maximum enjoyment.
