2011 Pinot Noir

Brothers Philippe and Frédéric Blanck make a harmonious team at this family estate located in the heart of the small town of Kientzheim. Philippe is in charge of communications and sales while Frédéric makes the wines. Roughly 80% of Blanck’s production is exported, and their wines are among Alsace’s easiest to find outside of France. From a strictly commercial point of view, the estate’s most important bottlings are those in their “Classiques” line-up, which are generally far above average for entry-level wines from Alsace; Blanck declassifies all of the must from their young grand cru vines into this range of wines. Even better, these inexpensive wines speak clearly of both their variety and their region, and are usually fairly dry. However even Blanck’s grand cru wines are characterized by early appeal and easy-drinking charm, and they are some of Alsace’s best food wines. Philippe Blanck described both the 2013 and 2012 vintages as "very classic."

Among Paul Blanck's 34 hectares are many parcels favorably situated in prestigious grand cru sites(Furstentum, Schlossberg, Sommerberg, Mambourg, Wineck-Schlossberg).The family's most important grand cru bottling is the riesling Schlossberg, but financially, the simple entry-level varietally labeled wines (of which there are roughly 30,000 bottles produced each year) are equally important, according to commercial director Philippe Blanck, whose brother Frederic makes the estate's wines.Philippe Blanck is just another of the many Alsatian producers who loves 2010, which he calls a textbook vintage, though he admits that "what is especially interesting is that unlike 20 years ago, today we like the cold years, as the wines are more in tune with modern tastes and foods."Also recommended:2011 Pinot Gris Patergarten (86), 2011 Pinot Noir (86), 2010 Pinot Noir (85).