One of the joys of going into my local wine shop, the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan, is that I never know what will occur.  If they are really busy, I know that I can always come back, rather than disturbing a private wine tasting session.  Even though the customer had basically made his choices, and they were great, the shop introduced us both to a couple of wines from Emile Beyer from Alsace.  Alsace, while now in France, has had a long and checkered history belonging both to the early French and early German territories. It is the only French region to grow significant amounts of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris.  The fourteen generations of the Beyer family date back to 1580. 

Today, Christian Beyer and his wife, represent the Fourteenth generation of the Beyer family in Eguisheim.  He is the current steward of the land that has been written about in documents going all the way back to Old French and Old German. Beyer makes three levels of wine: the “Tradition” line are wines meant to be consumed young, showing the true varietal character of the grapes of Alsace, “Eguisheim” which is a series of varietal wines produced from estate fruit and older vines, and “Terroir” wines those grown in single vineyard sites and Grand Cru rated vineyards.  The first wine that we tried was Emile Beyer Les Traditions Pinot Blanc Alsace 2021.  The winery is in the process of conversion to total sustainable practices.  The soil is clay and limestone.  The wine is a blend of seventy percent Auxerrois and thirty percent Pinot Blanc, with vines from ten to twenty-five years of age, coming from both estate and purchased grapes.  The harvested grapes are pressed slowly and gently, and the juice is allowed to settle, before a cool and long fermentation in Stainless-Steel tanks; the aging continues in the tank on the lees for several month.  A pale straw-yellow colored wine offering notes of fresh apples and white florals.  On the palate there were tones of fresh fruit with creaminess, wonderful acidity, bright and crisp, with dry finish beckoning for another taste.  It could easily be my favorite white of the year, for a go-to wine in the cellar, so refreshing and definitely food friendly.

We then enjoyed Emile Beyer Eguisheim Pinot Noir Alsace 2020.  Christian Beyer joined the family business after studying oenology in Burgundy and work professionally at Chateau Rieussec in Sauternes and Schloss Johannisberg in the Rheingau.  The “Eguisheim” collection was certified as organic in 2014.  The fruit is from estate vineyards, where the vines are forty-years or older and from limestone and marl grounds.  The wine is pure Pinot Noir and the fruit is manually harvested, and the grapes are gently pressed and undergo a long, cool fermentation in a tank.  Aging is done in a combination of one- and two-year-old barrels, and a neutral tank for almost a year.  The wine is a black-cherry color with bright garnet reflections and offers notes of first of vanilla and spices, and then red fruits; a nose that needs a few minutes to open up.  On the palate great tones of black cherry, layered in wood, with silky tannins and a medium count finish.