2023 Chasselas Vieilles Vignes

Alexandre Schoffit was the only grower I visited who was affected by frost. His Harth vineyards, on the Colmar plain, were hit in April, losing 30-50% of yields in those sites. Schoffit’s take on the 2023 dryness was that “the season was easy in terms of treatment, with low disease pressure.” But he also had news to report, with the addition of two new sites to his portfolio, both in Bergheim: Bourg and Burlenberg, for more Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir. The new additions bring the total size of the domaine to 18 hectares. This was the first time I tasted the domaine’s Pinot Noir (made entirely without oak), which for years has been sold almost exclusively to a local Winstub, a traditional wine inn. Schoffit’s new Pinot Noir, from the Burlenberg, is also made in stainless steel only—a counter-cultural move from Schoffit—showing the site’s eminence for wonderfully lively and vivid Pinot Noir with much personality. The wines from the Rangen site, it almost goes without saying, are superb.