Does Pinot Blanc get enough respect?

TN: 2018 Gisselbrecht Pinot Blanc Tradition, Alsace.

Good nat cork, 12% alc, $22 Cdn
Medium straw color, nose not to aromatic initially but as it opens green apple, lemon/lime, more perfumed as it opened after an hour. But really not all that enticing I thought.
Initial entry thought was dry, light to medium bodied. Took time to open up with quince, apple but so-so acidity. "No citrus tones to speak of" from across the patio. More white stonefruit, subtle complexity on day 2. Also noted some sweetness and better/very good acidity as we drained the bottle!
Food was pork scallopini in a mushroom sauce.

Interested to get some forumite opinions!
 
Last edited:
In the Pfalz, Pinot Blanc (or Weißburgunder or Weiß Burgunder or Weißer Burgunder, as it is often called) can make flat-out great wine.

In Alsace, I've noticed great improvements in quality recently, although starting from a much lower base level. Alsace is confusing because there are five different grapes that can be (but aren't always) labelled as Pinot Blanc. E.g., Rolly-Gassmann's Auxerrois, which could legally be called Pinot Blanc, has long been a step above other Pinot Blancs I've known from the region, but I admit I've not had one from R-G in years.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Chalone made truly wonderful Pinot Blancs, and they aged well. But it subsequently was learned that most of what was called Pinot Blanc in California was in fact Melon de Bourgogne. I presume, but don't know for a fact, that Chalone's Pinot Blanc was in fact Melon de Bourgogne.
 
According to Jim Clendenen in last night’s 67PM virtual, no.
Having dismissed PB for too long, over the past couple of years I come to appreciate & have sought out a few this. I particularly like Dönnhoff, Gouges, Terlano especially the latter’s age-worthy Vorberg. .
 
Last edited:
Terlano is probably the best one I've had, but being completely honest I don't think I've ever had a PB that has wowed me. I've had plenty that were OK, but really no more than that. I remain open minded, but am (as yet) unconvinced.
 
It doesn't get much respect in Alsace ... it is invariably cross blended with Auxerrois as Claude implies. I thought only Boxler makes the only pure one, although the Wine Society seems to think that the 2017 Reserve is blended with Auxerrois too. The Kermit Lynch (US importer of Boxler) website states both the PB and PB Reserve from Boxler are still 100% PB but Auxerrois provides half of the Cremant blend.

This is what the WS says about the 2017 Boxler Reserve PB:

"A blend of pinot blanc and auxerrois from three mature vineyard parcels on granite. Lovely stone fruit perfume and silky texture, light of foot, with a mouthwatering finish.Jean Boxler described the 2017 as more aromatic than usual due to the auxerrois, which was planted in 1946. The pinot blanc components also hail from old vines, including some in the grand cru Brand."

Anybody know for sure? Have they reduced Cremant production?

In addition to those mentioned, there are a number of good Austrian Pinot Blancs from various regions, but my favourite is from Champagne: Cedric Bouchard La Boloree.
 
Last edited:
I must confess that I have not had many Pinot Blanc wines, and among them the only one that I recall being impressed with was one from California. I think it was made by a rather obscure winery called Silver Wines. I have not seen it since.
 
There’s a place in the world for wines that don’t take centre stage but simply enhance the food you’re eating and Pinot Blanc does that very well.

We recently had Zind Humbrecht’s 2015 pinot blanc and it was super-enjoyable. Looking at ZH’s website, they don’t appear to have made a PB since 2015 and I wonder whether they’ve given up on it (they don’t make a Sylvaner either, which can be another food-friendly wine).
 
It doesn't get much respect in Alsace ... it is invariably cross blended with Auxerrois as Claude implies. I thought only Boxler makes the only pure one, although the Wine Society seems to think that the 2017 Reserve is blended with Auxerrois too. The Kermit Lynch (US importer of Boxler) website states both the PB and PB Reserve from Boxler are still 100% PB but Auxerrois provides half of the Cremant blend.

This is what the WS says about the 2017 Boxler Reserve PB:

"A blend of pinot blanc and auxerrois from three mature vineyard parcels on granite. Lovely stone fruit perfume and silky texture, light of foot, with a mouthwatering finish.Jean Boxler described the 2017 as more aromatic than usual due to the auxerrois, which was planted in 1946. The pinot blanc components also hail from old vines, including some in the grand cru Brand."

Anybody know for sure? Have they reduced Cremant production?

In addition to those mentioned, there are a number of good Austrian Pinot Blancs from various regions, but my favourite is from Champagne: Cedric Bouchard La Boloree.

Having recently tried the Boxler Reserve PB I would echo the description given by the WS. A seriously good bottle of wine! I was under the impression there was auxerrois in the blend, not that it was evident to my uneducated palate.

In fact, except for this wine I would say the majority of PB I've tasted have been perfectly acceptable, often well made but rarely exciting.

No experience of their Cremant but I'd be keen to try it. I can't see a UK stockist however
 
According to Jim Clendenen in last night’s 67PM virtual, no.
Having dismissed PB for too long, over the past couple of years I come to appreciate & have sought out a few this. I particularly like Dönnhoff, Gouges, Terlano especially the latter’s age-worthy Vorberg. .

The Gouges is a bit different, is it not? I have never tasted one that I found compelling but I'm not sure I've ever tasted one in good condition.
 
Isn't Gouges a white mutation of Pinot noir he discovered in the vineyard? Although he may have pinot blanc as we
lol, there's a bit around in the Cote, I heard.
 
Isn't Gouges a white mutation of Pinot noir he discovered in the vineyard? Although he may have pinot blanc as we
lol, there's a bit around in the Cote, I heard.

Russ, Gouges does indeed make a white wine from a white mutation of Pinot Noir. This is a premier cru from the Perrieres vineyard. The mutated grapes are often referred to as Pinot Gouges.

I had thought that Pinot Gouges was different to Pinot Blanc - yet Gouges' website suggests they are one and the same. Perhaps Jasper can shed some light on this.

Robert Chevillon produces a white Nuits from Pinot Blanc.
 
Russ, Gouges does indeed make a white wine from a white mutation of Pinot Noir. This is a premier cru from the Perrieres vineyard. The mutated grapes are often referred to as Pinot Gouges.

I had thought that Pinot Gouges was different to Pinot Blanc - yet Gouges' website suggests they are one and the same. Perhaps Jasper can shed some light on this.
.

Pinot Gouges is the white mutation of pinot noir, & appears as NSG villages & 1er cru, as opposed to the pinot blanc which forms their Bourgogne blanc.
 
I see Ian d’Agata has very clear notes in Vinous from a Boxler PB vertical. It seems as though it usual for both the PB and PB Reserve (sometimes referred to PB 'B' for Brand) are usually 100% Pinot Blanc, it does occasionally vary. For the 2017 Reserve:

"This year Boxler blended together his Pinot Blanc from the Brand (planted in 1969) and his Pinot Blanc planted around Niedermorschwihr (two plots dating back to the 1950s) along with his Auxerrois (planted in 1946) because he felt the blend was much better than the monovariety Pinot Blanc wine (this is therefore a two-thirds/one-third Pinot Blanc–Auxerrois blend)."

The 2011 Reserve is a 50/50 blend, otherwise all other Reserves tasted by Ian d’Agata seem to be pure PB.

So one now has to be careful with this cuvee is one is searching for the pure PB without the Auxerrois influence. At the end of the day, the Boxler PB is probably my favourite Alsace PB (whether blended or not).
 
Who makes them so dry in Alsace, Richard?
A number of producers in Alsace have always resisted wines with more than minimal residual sugar, e.g., Trimbach, Hugel, Paul Blanck. Moreover, the trend seems to be back to drier wines, except sometimes Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. Even Zind-Humbrecht, who popularized the move to wines with significant residual sugar, has moved back to dry wines.
 
Top