Alsace Pinot Gris VT 2019 Domaine Hebinger

The Pinot Gris Vendanges Tardives 2019 from Famille Hebinger is a luscious wine from Eguisheim, made from overripe Pinot Gris grapes and fermented slowly with indigenous yeasts. The 2019 vintage brings concentrated acidity that gives these late-harvest wines freshness and tension. A deep golden robe with amber highlights, ample and smooth texture, terroir asserting itself over varietal character.

Terroir and vineyard

The Pinot Gris of Eguisheim grows on marly-chalky soils, worked without herbicides, with alternating rows left to grass and deliberately modest yields. Harvesting is entirely by hand, after grapes have achieved full overripeness. Hebinger forgoes the raisining of grapes, preferring those affected by noble rot, which offer greater complexity. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts and excludes additives: a long fermentation followed by several months' ageing in large wooden vessels or barrels, before bottling. Here, terroir dominates varietal expression, whether in late harvest or noble rot selections.

Tasting profile

Deep golden robe with amber glints. The nose offers an abundance of ripe yellow fruit, dried and candied, with a hint of honey, undertones of forest floor and smoke, the signature of Pinot Gris from these argilo-chalky soils. The palate is ample, rich and honeyed, its sweetness balanced by the vintage's freshness. The finish is long and elegant, with notes of gentle spice, candied zests and ginger.

The domaine

Hebinger has tended some ten hectares spread across more than thirty parcels in Eguisheim since 1942, including four Grand Crus: Pfersigberg, Eichberg, Hengst and Sommerberg. Christian and Véronique Hebinger, joined by their son Denis, work the vineyard biodynamically, producing wines recognised for their purity, tension and precision.

Food pairings

This late harvest pairs beautifully with sautéed foie gras, blue cheese or Munster, cream-based poultry dishes, Asian-inspired cooking or tarte Tatin. Serve between 10 and 12°C. Drink with pleasure now, and it will gain complexity over several years in the cellar.