Pinot Noir Heimbourg 2020

The estate's only red wine, and it holds back at first: earthy, mineral, with the fruit only emerging with oxygen. Then dark cherries, plums and berries appear in the glass, along with depth and expression. Decanting reveals significantly more of the wine.

0.32 hectares in the Heimbourg single vineyard near Turckheim, west-facing. The soil is red Oligocene limestone, rich in iron; here the Pinot Noir ripens slowly and builds a refined aromatic profile. A planting density of 10,000 vines per hectare and pruning close to the ground keep the bunches very small and almost at soil level. Yields here have always been low, and the plot has recently also suffered from trunk diseases.

Pure Pinot Noir. Harvested in 15-kilo crates, hand-destemmed on a perforated wooden table, fermented in open vats with only light punching down. Ageing follows in used 228- and 350-litre barrels, bottled without filtration or fining. 13.0% ABV, dry.

Elegantly built, acidity and tannin both youthful and ripe at once. The juicy fruit carries the drinkability, while aeration brings out minerality and depth. Very good ageing potential.

Pairs well with dishes combining earthy and fruity notes: beef tenderloin with thin noodles, porcini and rosemary, goose with preserved plums, walnut dumplings and poultry jus, or the vegetarian beetroot and potato rösti with sorrel crème fraîche.

Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the title of Master of Wine, farms 42 hectares biodynamically; in 1996 he converted the first five hectares. Heimbourg remains the estate's only red wine plot.