"Terribly useful, often overlooked, soft, smoky whites.”- Jancis Robinson/Purple Pages on Alsace wines

For nearly a decade, Old World has been searching for the right Alsatian producers for our portfolio. One that fits the ethos of good farming practices, a multigenerational family tradition, and a textbook execution of terroir. Some simply didn’t excite us, but largely… they were too expensive.

As we find in many of the world’s great wine regions, some of the most fascinating parcels can only be realized by hand, as they are too steep or rocky to cultivate by machine. Much of Alsace is this way. Alsace hugs the sunny eastern slopes of the Vosges Mountains on France’s most diverse, complex soils. They have over a dozen distinct soil types caused by glacial activity and even more sub-types with textures which largely include: granite, sandstone, schist, and limestone. Furthermore, the price tag reflects the overall high quality Alsace achieves - there are known to have more certified organic and Biodynamic wineries here than any other France region.

Alsace runs about 115 miles long and 25 miles wide. It is divided into two areas: the Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin (just to confuse you, Haut-Rhin, or ’upper’-Rhin is to the south, whereas Bas-Rhin is to the north). The Haut-Rhin holds the majority of the Grand Cru parcels and much of the more artisan, premium activity (though this is beginning to shift). The are snuggled in a rainshadow cast by the gran Vosges which tops out as high as nearly 4,600 feet in the Haut-Rhin. They enjoy continental weather with a skosh of rain - they are typically consider sunny, dry, high, and while overall ‘cool’, hence its propensity to whites (over 90%), they get very long seasons which allow for insane flavor development and the liberty to pick when the vigneron feels it is ‘just right.’ The realities of climate warmth are changing folks’ tunes in this regions though and more Pinot is going in the ground. In fact, tasting through several at this year’s Alsatian symposium, I was more impressed than ever in years’ past at the level of quality they are beginning to achieve in this area as well.

Though not as common in the rest of France where the revolution put the land of monks and royals into the hands of regular people, Alsace’s past was less interrupted (well, we can argue that - it was constantly interrupted with wars and switching hands of the French and the Germans), and there are many estates that have seen family ownership back to the 1400s. Barmes-Buecher began farming their lands in the 1700s. Then, in 1985, Genevieve (nee Buecher) & Francoise Barmes joined forces with their holdings and together formed their own winery: Barmes-Buecher. They joke that all it took was the road between their two facing plots for them to meet. She was literally the girl next door. They have 17 hectares over 7 Grand Cru parcels. They are nestled in the village of Wettolsheim, meters from some of the most coveted plots in the land.

They promptly worked to gain their Ecocert and Biodyvin certifications by 2002 - converted their parents’ conventionally farmed negociant-based business into a true winery with estate grown fruit that was focused on organic farming and finding the excitement and individuality of bottling versus the more straightforward expressions so many were maintaining at the time. Francoise almost went into metallurgy engineering - this fascination with the properties of metals and their interaction with the world intermixed with his path down winemaking and how their winery was designed. He wanted to mirror the energy of the vineyard inside the the winery itself - a continuation of that dynamic, untranslatable energy. Francoise died unexpectedly in 2011, and it was then that their children Sophie and Maxime stepped in to help their mom push the winery forward.

We could go on, but it seems best you taste these wines. We are blown away by the level of quality we get from these for the price - it seems we finally found the diamond in the rough. We have a couple in stock and more expected in just a few days to build your wish lists.

Their Pinot Blanc comes from the hillside vineyard called Rosenberg in their village Wottelsheim. It is composed of clay-limestone and sandstone soils facing east and north. They are able to grasp vibrant acidity but also aways a ripe, round texture with melon and orchard fruit on the palate.

Clos Sand Riesling was one of my favorites for the money - this is a very steep (40-50% grade slope) on pure granite at nearly 1200 feet overlooking their village Wottelsheim. The woods that surround makes for a cool, temperate microclimate. It’s a stunning, mineral driven expression.

The Steingrubler Grand Crus start tapping into the depths this winery can achieve with optimal real estate. This is a vineyard just west of the village of Wottelsheim that is a bit more southerly on the whole in the Haut-Rhin that sits in a line alongside the greats (Hengst, Eichberg, Pfersigberg…), all of which rest on a granite protrusions from the Vosges. South and east-facing Steingrubler ranges from about 230-350 meters and is one of the driest sites and the latest to ripen. Riesling is found on the higher sites with granite sands, where Gewurz and Pinot Gris can be found on lower clay-limestone soils.

Finally - their Cremant is unlike many in that they pick at a higher degree of ripeness, hauls fermentation at about 11 degrees, then finish the second fermentation in bottle with their natural sugars - no added sugars at any point of the process. It’s a superb value in a world where Champagne is only getting more pricey by the second it seems…

Here right this second:

Barmes-Buecher Cremant d'Alsace Brut Zero 2018

Barmes-Buecher Riesling Clos Sand 2018

Barmes-Buecher Pinot Blanc Rosenberg 2020

Barmes-Buecher Riesling Grand Cru Steingrubler 2019

Barmes-Buecher Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Steingrubler 2019

Extra Credit: This source on Wine Terroirs was extremely helpful in understanding the establishment of the winery - particularly the unique perspective of Francoise Barmes.

Barmes-Buecher: Finding the Unfindable... Finally!