Barmes-Buecher Pinot Gris Rosenberg 2022

Domaine Barmès-Buecher is a family affair from southern Alsace, striving to create the most expressive and powerful wines that Mother Nature will allow. The domaine is completely biodynamic, an ancient and organic way of farming using no chemicals. It’s a very intense way to farm, but it’s absolutely worth it.

Maxime, who learned everything he knows from his late, amazing winemaking father François, has been praised by Parker’s Wine Advocate as an extremely promising young talent, writing of “his great passion and intellectual reflection—the idea of a harmonic and sane growth of the vines through biodynamic farming and a true and balanced reflection of the complex french terroir idea (which considers the soil, the vine and the vintage as an entity) in the wines.”

Parker’s Wine Advocate also declared Barmes “the purest and most authentic expression of terroir, vintage, and grape variety,” which, especially coming from the most respected wine publication in the world, is about as emphatic an endorsement as I’ve seen. It’s also incredibly well-deserved.

“I have always liked the wines of this biodynamic domaine in Wettolsheim. But I have never been as touched by them as I was this time. I can hardly believe that this could have been due to the new, extremely stylish tasting room that Sophie is designing. Maxime, Sophie’s brother, winemaker und vineyard manager, always threw a new log on the fireplace as soon as it stopped heating the room like a sauna, which almost drove me crazy or at least into an ice bath, if there had been one. I can’t say whether this hot flash influenced my high ratings. But if it did, then you know what you have to do if you want to enjoy the 2021 Crémant d’Alsace Brut Nature like I did. It is a rich yet also filigreed, light-footed and delicately fruity sparkling wine and an irresistible, perfectly balanced aperitif and menu wine that was disgorged with a kiss of Riesling! The 2022s from the Hengst—Gewurztraminer, Riesling and, for the first time as grand cru, Pinot Noir are stellar wines (the old-vine Pinot Noir is one of a kind!), and the 2022 Steingrubler Riesling and Gewurztraminer are not really far in terms of terroir expression and neither is the 2022 Pinot Gris from the Rosenberg.” –Wine Advocate (April, 2024)