From fruit vinified almost entirely vendange entier, the Barthelmes’ 2009 Pinot Noir Grand H – tasted from barrel (20% new) – evinces aromas of game and lightly-cooked bacon, blackberry and cassis. Ripe yet restrained (at only 13.4% alcohol) and full of freshness and saliva-inducing salinity, this stains a palate underlain by strong, fine tannins, with licorice, black pepper, salt, and chalk adding interest to a long if borderline severe finish. Amazingly the Barthelmes began picking their Pinots already on September 9. Given the intention to bottle these in the spring of 2011, notes Jacky Barthelme, these 2009 Pinots’ slightly reduced conditions when I tasted them are not of concern. The finished “H” will need 3-4 years to loosen-up sufficiently for optimum enjoyment, though how long it might thereafter remain fresh I won’t try to speculate. 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

The Barthelmes’ 2008 Pinot Noir Grand H – which was entirely destemmed –continues the theme of bright, tartly-and slightly bitterly-concentrated black fruits mingled with chalk and salt that was struck by the corresponding Clos de la Faille. The fruit pit bitterness and slightly chewy tannins manage not to significantly detract from the sense of focus and juicy finishing follow-through of huckleberry, blackberry, and dark cherry. That noted, when taken in conjunction with the wine’s underlying mineral sense, this tanninity makes for an overall impression that some tasters will find austere. Give it 3-4 years in the cellar and follow it for at least several thereafter. 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

The Barthelmes’ 2006 Pinot Noir Grand H – from old vines in the Hengst – offers black fruits overlain with smoke, brown spices, and game. Brine, iodine, and chalk lend a vividly mineral sense to this, but arguably also a touch of austerity, the sappy persistence of fruit flavors being slightly dried by the effects of new barriques as well as high fruit skin tannin. Will this unclench and achieve some measure of elegance or charm I wonder? Certainly on the surface it’s structured – and crafted with the intent – to age for a decade or more. 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.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800