The Barthelmes’ 2006 Pinot Noir Grand P – from recently acquired old vines in the Pfersigberg – combines bitter-edged blackberry and beet root with clean, raw beef meatiness on a formidably dense yet richly-ripe and by no means roughly tannic palate. I ascribe to the new barrique employed here the overtone of char and a faintly drying note in the finish. This is so impressively concentrated and seamless that you can’t help but be impressed, and it should be interesting to follow for at least half a dozen years. Still, like many non-Burgundian enthusiasts for Pinot Noir, I have the feeling that the Barthelme brothers are being tempted in the wrong direction by the natural concentration and ripeness of their raw material. If they ease up on extraction and on the woodiness and length (15-16 months) of elevage, I suspect their Pinot will find its mellifluous and multi-registered voice. (I have not yet had opportunity to taste the Barthelmes’ 2007 Pinot Noirs.)
To say that Maurice and Jacky Barthelme are bullish on their 2007s would be an understatement, as they seem to think that this is their best collection going all the way back to the wonderful 1988s with which they debuted in the U.S. (and a number of which I am still enjoying). Since they have been among those Alsace vintners most concerned with restraining sugar accretion while promoting ripe flavors, it’s understandable that they view 2007 as having been especially welcome when compared with other very recent vintages. “In September there was just enough rain; in October no rain; November was wonderful,” comments Jacky Barthelme, “so, we had time to harvest and to select.” Barthelmes were also among those growers who sold off a portion of their 2006 crop in bulk and declassified portions into generic bottlings, but the resulting bottlings are among the finest of that vintage, for which the brothers in part – unsurprisingly – credit biodynamic preparations and fruit that could be picked ripe early. My laudatory reviews of the (for this estate typically) outstanding value Mann Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes and Pinot Blanc bottlings of vintage 2007 can be found in issue 178.
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