Domaine Josmeyer – Pinot Auxerrois “H” Vieilles Vignes
Learn More About This Wine
This Pinot Auxerrois comes from two plots located close to each other, in the heart of Hengst. The vines have an average age of 60 years old. Hengst, a Grand Cru for other authorised varieties but not Auxerrois, faces South-South East, peaks at 360 metres and is located in the commune of Wintzenheim with a total surface area of 53 hectares. The terroir is made up of brown calcareous, sandstone and clayey soils associated with Oligocene conglomerates. This stony soil comes from the Muschelskalk limestones intermixed with clay. It is a powerful wine land, which warms up quickly in spring, rooting in favor of the stony structure and it has a water reserve thanks to the conglomerates.
Pinot Auxerrois is not recognized as a “noble” grape variety and therefore does not have the right to the Grand Cru appellation. Thanks to the power of a single letter, the “H” for Hengst, this wine regains all its strength and nobility.
Manual harvest, followed by a traditional approach. The grapes are pressed whole for about 7 hours in the pneumatic presses. Settling is natural, fermentation begins spontaneously with the yeasts in the environment in century-old tuns. Fermentations are often long on this wine.It is followed by ageing on fine lees for several months, until bottling, which usually takes place in July.
In its youth it opens with stone fruit aromas, mirabelle plum or apricot. The mouth is fleshy and chalky at the same time. The fruit rubs shoulders with salt and mineral in its finish with some attractive bitterness. This particular imprint fiercely links it to the limestone soil of Hengst. But it is in evolution, after 8 to 10 years the patina of the nose evolves towards the tender bark, the flower honey with touches of cream and salt at the same time.
This wine will accompany seafood with fine and delicate flesh such as scallops if drunk young. After several years of evolution, a creamy poultry, a risotto with porcini mushrooms will suit it perfectly. For older bottles we would suggest something more decadent such as lobster.
