Winemaker Notes
Grown from 25-plus year-old vines in a mostly volcanic, south-facing “Premier Cru” vineyard in Jechtingen, this wine shows all the virtues of Bercher’s over-performing basic Pinot on a grander and more imposing scale. Its seriousness, however, detracts in no way from the innate sweetness of the fruit, which hauls you right into the wine’s beating heart of stone. The 2015 is a declamatory Pinot, with lovely volcanic notes and a suave texture.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
