Alsace adventure (7) Domaine Albert Mann
Website: https://www.albertmann.com/
Based in Wettolsheim, this has always been a reliable destination for really good Alsace wines. Of late, Albert Mann has stepped up a notch and is now in the first tier of producers. I visited with Antoine Barthelmé, who’s the son of Jacky Barthelmé, one of the two brothers who has been running the domains since the 1990s. The two families, Mann and Barthelmé, have been winegrowers since the 17th century, and joined forces when Maurice Barthelmé married Marie-Claire, the daughter of Albert Mann.
Maurice was in charge of viticulture (he’s since retired) and the domaine is know run by Jacky and Antoine who work together.
The domaine started with 5 hectares, but Jacky got busy buying more vineyards and domaines, and now they have 25 hectares of vines, including Eichberg Grand Cru which was the most recent acquisition in 2020. They have been farming biodynamically since 1997.

Now they are working with 7 different Grand Crus and two Pinot Noir monopoles, Les Saintes Claires and Clos de la Faille. Pinot Noir is increasingly becoming a focus for the domaine. They are taking Pinot Noir very seriously here.
It took 20 years to convince the INAO to allow Pinot Noir to be labelled Grand Cru, says Antoine. For this reason, their Pfersigberg and Hengst Pinot Noirs were labelled Grand P and Grand H before, respectively. They take an infusion rather than maceration style with their Pinot Noirs. In terms of sorting, this takes place in the vineyard, not the cellar, and the aim is only to bring top quality grapes in.
They’ve grafted over some Pinot Gris to Pinot Noir, starting in 2019. They just have Pinot Noir in Hengst and Pfersigberg. They have also grafted over some vines in Schlossberg to Syrah, as Meyer-Fonné has.
‘All the work we are making in the vineyard is aimed at producing grapes with phenolic maturity without high alcohol,’ says Antoine.
They are members of an association called Les Gobeloteurs, which also includes the likes of Cuilleron, Larmandier Bernier, Etienne Sauzet, Duband and Ramonet – which is a nice peer group to be part of.
THE WINES
Domaine Albert Mann Grand H Pinot Noir 2021
13% alcohol. Grand Cru Hengst. Sandstone on limestone soils in this vineyard. 2022 will be labelled Hengst. In 2021 they destemmed everything and didn’t use new oak: they lost 40% of the crop, but it’s a wine for cellaring. Sweetly aromatic with red cherries and blackcurrant hints, with nice presence. There’s a hint of wood spice, with lovely focus and some structure. Grainy and detailed with nice presence. 93/100

Domaine Albert Mann Clos de la Faille Pinot Noir 2020
13.5% alcohol. One hectare plot, sandstone from muschelkalk, so the limestone is around the sandstone, with lots of iron. It’s on a fault, and it’s a monopole. Complex, taut and structured with good acidity. 100% whole bunch with new oak. Spicy, bright and well defined with nice acidity and some grainy notes. Firm and grippy and beautifully balanced. 94/100

Domaine Albert Mann Pinot Noir Grand P 2019
Pfersigberg Grand Cru, protected by the Vosges, with limestone soils. Lovely sweet cherry and plum fruit with some raspberry. Finely spiced with nice structure as well as flesh. Nice structure under the ripe fruit with nice precision. Has power and delicacy. 95/100

Domaine Albert Mann Pinot Noir Les Saintes Claires 2016
13% alcohol. This monopole, near to Altenbourg, was planted in 1998 on limestone soils, first vintage is 2008. 18 months in barrel. Very fine, fresh and expressive with taut cherry and raspberry fruit. Structured and fine, with pure fruit. Concentrated, linear, fresh and very fine with lovely acidity and some salty notes from the limestone. This is an astonishingly good wine that’s concentrated but so fresh and fine. Brilliant stuff. 97/100
Domaine Albert Mann Crémant d’Alsace Extra Brut 2020
80% Pinot Blanc, 20% Auxerrois. Disgorged October 2022. Bright and linear with taut lemony fruit, showing a hint of apple and yellow plum. Has nice tension and brightness with a hint of sweetness on the finish. Very fizzy, with a twist of bitterness. A serious crémant. 92/100
They also make a 25 year old Chardonnay, 900 bottles, they want to sell after 60 months sur lattes, with the base wine in 100% barrel.

Domaine Albert Mann Outrevin 2022
13.5% alcohol. ‘When I arrived at the estate I was young and stupid, and I had some reproach to my father,’ says Antoine Barthelmé. ‘Why don’t we have any oak, even foudres? Where is the Alsatian oak in the cellar? I want to make white wine with a longer time on fine lees, and it is not possible with stainless steel, there is always oxidation or reduction. So I asked him to buy some. He bought three amphorae where we can have exchange of oxygen.’ The amphorae in question are 750 litre Tava from Italy. 2020 was the first vintage, and the grape variety was Chasselas. The second vintage is this one, the 2022, and this time it is made from free run juice from the Pellenc destemmer Pinot Noir, with 10% Riesling and 10% Chasselas. Complex, layered sweet cherries and pear with a nice spiciness. Lovely weight and complexity here with a core of sweet fruit and a rounded texture, showing nice spicy frills. Lovely balance. 93/100

Domaine Albert Mann Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru 2020
Screwcapped. They always make 600 bottles in screwcap, because of the Australian market. Has this floral, youthful character typical of granitic soils. Fresh, lively and linear with bright, pure pithy citrus fruit with a stony edge. Taut and slightly reduced with a tapering mineral finish. Nice precision and focus here. 93/100
Domaine Albert Mann Wineck-Schlossberg Riesling Grand Cru 2021
Cork-sealed. Linear, taut and mineral with bright citrus fruit. Lemond and grapefruits with great acidity, and some fine herbal hints in the background. Keen acidity here: such a linear wine with lovely tart lemony notes, finising fresh with a touch of salinity. Compressed and primary, needing time. 94/100

Domaine Albert Mann Riesling Furstentum Grand Cru 2021
Clay/limestone soils. Slightly smoky and mineral on the nose with lovely precision, showing bright lemony fruit and some green apple and a stony precision. So bright and alert with great focus. A lovely Riesling. 94/100
Domaine Albert Mann Pinot Gris Furstentum Grand Cru 2019
The first year they tried to make a dry style with fully ripe grapes but also moderate alcohol levels. Fine and fresh with lovely pear and apple notes as well as a hint of almond. Fresh and quite precise with nice acidity. Linear and bright with some depth but also some freshness. Great focus here. Juicy and linear. 93/100

Domaine Albert Mann Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Furstentum Vieilles Vignes 2019
Lovely aromatics with floral lychee and lemon fruit on the nose and then a wonderfully powerful, structured palate with fine spices, a touch of fenugreek, some onion and sweet lush floral lychee fruit. Nice acidity for Gewurztraminer with a peppery spicy finish. Some bergamot. Such concentration and complexity with some sweetness, and a wonderfully rich, smooth texture. 95/100
Domaine Albert Mann Muscat L’Ottonel 2019
9.5% alcohol. 148 g/l residual sugar. Powerful and sweet, with great intensity. There’s a strong grapey component with some Turkish delight and rose petal. There’s massive intensity and sweetness, but the overall impression is one of freshness. Such intensity here. 94/100