Disgorged in February this year, the 2019 Crémant d'Alsace Extra Brut is a blend of Pinot Blanc (80%), Auxerrois (15%) and Riesling (5%), with the malolactic fermentation included. The bouquet is clear, pure, fine and fresh, beautifully aromatic in all its brightness that delivers white fruit aromas with brioche notes. Light but intense and fresh on the palate, this is a saline and straightforward Crémant that was dosed with four grams per liter of residual sugar. Very stimulating. Tasted at the domaine in May 2022.

Predominantly based on Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois with a kiss or two of Riesling, the Albert Mann 2016 Crémant d'Alsace Extra Brut is an intensely flavored yet bone dry and yeasty sparkling wine with round and elegant fruit and a good, well structured and vinous finish. It was probably disgorged about three years before I tasted it from the cellar in March 2023. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork.

From a blend of Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, and (a new addition to this cuvee – from the Clos de la Faille) Pinot Noir, the Mann 2008 Cremant d’Alsace benefited from 18 months sur latte to gain a leesy sense of textural richness. A saline savor akin to shrimp shell reduction plays against ripe cherry and, accompanied by the piquancy and pungency of their pits and zest. The finish refreshes while tugging gently on the salivary glands. Once again, the Barthelmes have demonstrated like few other growers just how seriously delicious can be a Cremant d’Alsace – yet, frankly, theirs sells for little more than the cost of a bottle of plonk. (The situation is very much like that on the Loire, where top-notch methode champenoise from Foreau, Huet or Blot is ridiculously under-priced.) Enjoy this over the next 18-24 months. Although Maurice and Jacky Barthelme continued to pick their 2009 Rieslings into October and achieved satisfyingly ripe flavors, they did so without suffering high alcohol or unbalanced sweetness. Unsurprisingly (whether or not verifiably), they implicate the accumulated experience and effects of a biodynamic regimen in these results. Equally importantly, the levels of acidity in their 2009 Rieslings are ample and efficacious. With Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer, they were forced to discharge high must weights in the form of almost universally high residual sugar, with attractive if seldom distinguished results. The Mann 2008s are characterized by particularly concentrated and positively efficacious acidity, all of the Rieslings weighing-in at what on paper might look like an excessive 9 grams or more. Not only have the Barthelme brothers been together now for 21 vintages – to me it still seems like yesterday that I “discovered” their 1988s – but they point out that most of their present crew has been together for nearly a decade, which is bound to have been instrumental in their having been able to repeatedly expand into new vineyards without sacrificing the highest standards, not to mention with their enthusiasm still youthful.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

Based on the same varietal blend as their Pinot Blanc, the Barthelme’s non-vintage Cremant d’Alsace (the lot under review is L34) offers citrus zest and floral aromas, delicate mousse, and a salty, chalky, wet stone-inflected and subtly bitter finish. Enjoy this admirably clear, pure traditional sparkling wine over the next 6-9 months. Compared with it, most Alsace Cremant is sadly lacking in concentration or personality.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800