my friends Marion & Manfred Ebner-Ebenauer in Poysdorf (Weinviertel) bottle a marvellous Weissburgunder
and perhaps contrary to what one might expect from so large an operation, Esterházy in Eisenstadt (Burgenland)
labels theirs (ah, well…) Pinot Blanc, but it grows in the great vineyard Ried Tatschler, and with ten years or so is truly spectakler
Yes, Messmer’s GG is my favorite Weissburgunder/PB that I’ve had. Sadly, I can’t get it anymore.
I love Pinot Blanc in many forms, including champagne. I’ve been surprised how many Blanc fans there are. Pierre Guillemot’s Savigny Les Beaune white is mostly Pinot Blanc and a favorite of mine. I’ll second Kelley Fox’s Pinot Blanc from Freedom Hill Vineyard here in Oregon. Fantastic.
Vincent is too tactful to mention it but his PB is in his current offer released this week and it’s all of $16 in the prerelease period.
There are lots of them made in Germany, but I think most are consumed domestically. There is some terrific Grauburgunder/pinot gris, as well, but it doesn’t ever seem to make it to the US.
There are dozens, hundreds of good producers, but
you cannot go wrong with these names:
Germany:
Pfalz: Becker, Kuhn, von Winning, Knipser
Baden-Württemberg: Salwey, Dr.Heger, Huber, Schneider
Rheinhessen: Wittmann
Austria:
Wachau: Jamek, Hirtzberger, Schmelz, Rudi Pichler, Domaine Wachau
Steiermark: Sattlerhof, Gross, Tement, Potzinger, Sabathi
I´m no fan of Alsace Pinot gris -
Great story about Rudi Pichler. I love his wines. I’ve got to get to the Wachau someday. I have tried several of the Alto Adige bottling and they just don’t compete for me with the Austrians. I will look out for the Ebnerr-Ebenbauer. I have never seen a Weissburgunder from them.
I should probably try German Weissburgunder GC, but for whatever reason it has been easier for me to find Austrian examples than (higher level) German ones, even while living in Germany!
Geez…Guillemot, of course. And I used to sell that wine ![[head-bang.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/b1cd199e4b2b2988b5107c3c9598fd28dc92a776.gif "[head-bang.gif]"){kind=small}
.
Cheers! I find the Steiermark and Baden-Württemberg recs particularly interesting as I have never dipped my toes much in those regions. Salwey is one name that seems to get a lot of praise, I guess I need to find a few bottles to try asap.
100% Pinot Blanc? I didn’t know there were that many out there. I’ve had the previously cited Cédric Bouchard La Bolorée, a couple of Pierre Gerbais (L’Originale and L’Unique) and Fleury Notes Blanches, but that’s it. I’ve found that they were always better with a few years under the belt.
Any other ones you would recommend?
The Fleury one seems to be very variable in quality. I’ve had it three times, every single time it has been quite different (most likely vintage variation, since - unsurprisingly - the least impressive one was 2011). Pierre Gerbais does some terrific stuff.
Then of course there are Piollot’s Colas Robin and Vouette et Sorbées Textures; both are slightly bigger and fuller than your typical Blanc de Blancs Champagnes, but showing racy acidity that is on par with any serious Chardonnay BdB.
Charles Dufour’s Le Champ de Clos is a slightly funkier one. Nothing too weird or particularly natty, but to an accurate palate it’s quite obvious that this Shampoo is even more non-interventionist than Piollot and Vouette et Sorbée.
Thanks Otto! Piollot and V&S are imported here. I’ll see if these two specific cuvées are brought in and try to get my hands on them.
I agree with you on Gerbais. Even his NV Grains de Celles is a very good QPR.
Charles Dufour champagnes, I’ve never had and do not know. I don’t think they are imported here. Are they worth seeking out?
Well, they are slightly off-piste wines. Based on my experience on a few wines, they tend to be intriguing, but less “classic” Champagnes, so if you are looking something that fits snugly into the mold of typical Champagne, they might be a bit weird. However, if you like to keep your mind open, they can be pretty tasty bubblies.
I’ll just copypaste my TNs on the wines I’ve had here, so maybe that gives a better idea.
Pale lemony yellow color. Ripe, sweet-toned and slightly wild nose with aromas of sweet toffee oak, some sappy herbal green tones, a little bit of crunchy gooseberry, light sour cherry tones and a hint of ripe kiwi. The wine is crisp, youthful and bone-dry on the palate with quite light body and racy flavors of sappy herbal greenness, tart green apples, some sweeter toasty oak notes, a little bit of ripe golden apple, light bitter notes of grapefruit pith, a hint of buttery richness and a touch of cookie dough. The bracing acidity makes the wine quite nervous and lean with quite incisive structure. The finish is long, crisp and mineral with racy flavors of sappy herbal greenness, steely minerality, some buttery richness, a little bit of tart green apples and a hint of toasty and slightly nutty autolysis.
A somewhat weird and even slightly contradictory Champagne that combines oak-influenced richness to racy, bone-dry and slightly sappy green fruit. The wine manages to pull it all off quite well, but the overall style is a bit all over the place and still looking for focus. The overall style is almost painfully young, so most likely it will take some more years before the wine has found its balance. Interesting, but perhaps not that remarkable - nevertheless, good stuff with nice potential for future development. Priced according to its quality at 35€. (89 pts.)
Pale yellow-green color. Attractively sweet-toned and fine-tuned nose with aromas of apple jam, honeyed richness, perfumed floral tones, some peachy fruit, a little bit of apricot pit and, especially after some air, a wild, waxy hint - possibly a touch of brett here? The wine is pure, crisp and relatively light-bodied on the palate with lean, bone-dry taste that is contrasting the sweeter-toned nose quite noticeably. There are flavors of unripe white peach, yellow apple, some chalky minerality, a little bit of apple peel bitterness, light waxy tones and a hint of something wild and funky. The wine is moderately high in acidity with very fine, quite persistent and pleasantly creamy mousse. Overall the wine is nicely lean, dry and crunchy for a Pinot Blanc with great sense of balance. The finish is somewhat wild and quite complex with slightly bretty tones of leather and somewhat waxy, chalky minerality, tangy green apples, some sweeter golden apples, a little bit of pithy grapefruit bitterness and a hint of sappy herbal greenness. The fruit tones fade away rather quickly, but the bitterness and funky tones persist for quite a while.
A very lovely, enjoyably distinctive and very balanced Pinot Blanc Champ that nicely ticks some of the natural wine boxes without coming across as too sauvage or excessively funky. A lovely effort and a prime example why Champagnes made from Pinot Blanc should be bone-dry: the variety is so ripe and fruity to boot, a higher dosage only makes the wine excessively fruity and masks some of the moderate acidity away. Priced according to its quality at 55€. (91 pts.)
Medium-deep golden yellow color. Ripe, complex and pretty seductive nose with aromas of nutty autolysis, some bruised apple, a little bit of ripe stone fruits, light yeasty tones and a hint of poached pear. Has a quite vinous edge - probably due to the reserve wines here. The wine is ripe, dry and full-bodied on the palate with fresh, complex flavors of toasty autolysis and brioche, some yeasty tones, a little bit of ripe golden apples, light lemony citrus tones, a hint of creamy richness and a hint of stony minerality. Crisp but not aggressive mousse and rather high, balanced acidity. The finish is crisp and fresh with bright flavors of chalky minerality, some bready autolysis and a little bit of toast, light bruised apple tones, a tart hint of lemony citrus fruit and a sweeter touch of white peach.
A very tasty, harmonious and stylish Champagne with a surprisingly vinous, toasty edge given the relative youth of the wine - I guess the developed notes from the perpetual blend give the nutty complexity and illusion of pronounced autolysis here. It’s hard to say whether the wine will continue to improve from here, or if it is meant to be drunk rather soon, but at least it is drinking fantastically well given it is disgorged only two months ago. Fine stuff for people who enjoy bubblies from the toastier end of the spectrum. (92 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Thanks!
LOVE Pinot Blanc.
From Germany: Rebholz (particularly the GG Im Sonnenschein ) and Wasenhaus. And if you can ever find it the 2017 from the sadly defunct Möbitz is outstanding. I prefer Pinot Blanc slightly on the riper side. For a slightly different take I like the Falkenstein Herrenberg.
From Austria: As others have said I love Hirtzberger and Rudi Pichler.
There is another one from Lamoureux Jean-Jacques which I have tasted, good but not exceptional -
and there should be one from Marinette Raclot, not tasted so far -
Generally it´s interesting but often not worth the effort, also not the 6 and 7 cepage cuvees … tasted, noted, that´s it -
I beg to differ. Laherte’s Les 7 is often quite underwhelming and tightly-knit in its youth, but rewards cellaring. Drappier’s Quattuor is a quite impressive wine already in its youth. And Lahaye’s Le Jardin de la Grosse Pierre is one of the most impressive Champagnes I can think of (composed of 9 different co-fermented varieties). Then there are lots of other great wines that have some of the rare varieties in the blend.
Some favorites here: Vincent Wine Company from Oregon, Pierre Guillemot from Burgundy (70% PB), Enderle & Moll Muschelkalk from Baden (skin-contact).
Just as a data point to the discussion above, I have a bottle of 2014 Remy Massin Special Club that is Pinot Blanc. It was sold by Envoyer as Pinot Noir. I don’t think they knew. I have no idea how much history Remy Massin has with the grape. I could not find much in 5-10 minutes on Google. It’s so young I was shy to open it any time soon. I’m sure curiosity will get the best of me sometime soon though. I’ve never had one from Champagne.
I’ve generally shied away from Pinot Blanc. Most of the times I’ve ever had it it always came off as super basic ‘white wine’ to me. I think most all of those were from Alsace. There have been a couple higher end bottlings from there that were good wines but I always wondered why they bothered when they could have more Gewurz, Riesling or Pinot Gris. The examples in this thread give me new things I’d like to try to have some understanding why people grow it.
Koehler-Ruprecht also does well with PB.