WTN: Not all Alsatians are expensive

I have gone thru probably a case+ of 2012 Dom. Ehrhart Pinot Auxerrois Val. St. Gregoire and at $10 I think it is the most reasonably priced good quality Alsatian white wine out there. No, it is not deeply fruited or mineral-laden, but it has great fruit-acid balance with abv of %12.5. I used to buy this varietal from Albert Mann but at $25+ now, even though more interesting, is not such a good deal. This wine was medium-full bodied with lots of pear fruit, fine acidity, and went quite well with chicken noodle casserole. I will stop ranting now and ask a few questions. Who makes the best Auxerrois? I have never seen that varietal outside of Alsace. Is this varietal ever made as a pure sparkling wine? These wines , when well made in good years, can age and improve gracefully. I still remember a 1987 Albert Mann Auxerrois consumed in 1998 or 1999 that was sublime. This is a varietal that should do very well in Cal., NZ, the Finger Lakes, Austria and cooler regions of Australia.

There is a limited amount of Auxerrois grown in Ontario. I have no experience with it, but maybe, if I cross the Niagara River I could cop a bottle and bring it to MOCOOL.

[David M. Bueker]

Most Auxerrois gets sold as Pinot Blanc.

Believe it or not Auxerrois is grown here in Normandy about 25km from where we live http://www.arpents-du-soleil.com/fr/eti ... -gc15.html . It is a dependable quite mineral white but not very exciting. The estate's best wine IMO is a Pinot Noir.

As to affordability of Alsatian wine, here in France there is no problem in finding very decent ones for less than €10 unless one insists on GCs or on the likes of Zind-Humbrecht, Weinbach, CSH, CFE........

My favourite alsatian Auxerrois - Pinot Blanc is Domaine Schoffit's Vieilles Vignes.
I visit them every year and is about € 7,50.

From time to time (not every year) they also have a Cuvee Alexandre, sweeter but unbeatable matched with light cheeses.

Last year I went chez Kientzler in Ribeauvillé and their Auxerrois "K" (from GC Kirkberg) was really very good but for € 14.

I am sure I tasted in the past good Auxerrois Pinot Blanc from Dirler Cadè but I received ther pricelist via mail right yesterday and they haven't any at the moment.

The best Pinot Blanc IMO is Albert Boxler's "B" (from GC Brand), € 21,50 in a wine shop in Riquewihr, but I don't know their situation about the use of auxerrois or pinot blanc vines or if they consider them different or not.

I'm getting a bit confused here. Are people saying that Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois are synonymous? My information is that they are distinct varieties but often blended together, particularly in Alsace Crémant. Here is some information about Auxerrois from the Louis Sipp website where it is stated that it is not a Pinot http://sipp.com/index_en.php?pID=58&set_lng=en . The Schoffit Pinot Blanc VV Auxerrois appears to be a blend of 60% Auxerrois and 40% PB.

Add me to the confused. Somewhere along the way I'd picked up the notion that an Alsatian labelled Auxerrois was really Pinot Blanc. Wrong. If anything, we now are told, a bottle labelled Pinot Blanc is probably Auxerrois. Is there any way to tell what's actually in a bottle?

From the Vin d'Alsace website -

"Le Pinot Blanc est fréquemment associé à l’Auxerrois dont le caractère rond et ample constitue un complément judicieux. Ce vin d’assemblage porte alors le nom de Pinot Blanc ou Pinot. En revanche, lorsqu’il est vinifié seul, l’Auxerrois donne son nom au vin."

Loose translation -

"Pinot Blanc is frequently associated with Auxerrois whose round and generous character makes it an appropriate partner. This blended wine bears the name "Pinot Blanc" or "Pinot". On the other hand, when Auxerrois is vinified alone, it gives its own name to the wine."

This does not specify explicitly that unblended Pinot Blanc is also labelled "Pinot Blanc" but I think that it is implied.