Le Jardin de la Source VdF 2024

Wine Description for Le Jardin de la Source VdF 2024 by Hunter McKirdy

Colour & Appearance

Pale, radiant golden yellow – clear and luminous in the glass, with a purity that already announces the precision of this wine.

Nose

An extraordinarily multi-layered bouquet that captivates immediately: wine yeast, roasted almonds and freshly baked baguette with salted butter meet an unmistakable sea air and wet stones. To this is added an almost meditative note of soy sauce and iodine – umami in liquid form. With a little air, the wine opens to subtle fruit notes of firm pear and the delicate skin of a Charentais melon. Finesse and clarity in their purest form.

Palate

What a tension arc: the initial attack is creamy and charming, almost seductively soft – and then vibrant freshness breaks through like a cool spring breeze. The pronounced salinity and deep minerality dominate the mid-palate and lend the wine an almost tactile, stony texture. Yet it remains elegant throughout, never angular.

Finish

Long, saline and characterised by a cool, iodine-laden minerality that lingers persistently on the palate. This wine demands time – and rewards patience handsomely.

Terroir & Origin

The Jardin de la Source – once known as the Brunnel Gardens and a vegetable garden until the late 1960s – is a small jewel in Alsace. Facing east, the vineyard benefits from gentle morning sun, whilst the village above protects it from afternoon heat. Deep, cold limestone-marl soils from the early Jura, surrounded by trees and hedgerows, at 250 metres altitude – a green oasis with its own microclimate.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100 % Pinot Blanc from vines over 50 years old – the first ever planted on this terroir. The wine is constructed in a linear, compact manner and reveals its characteristic notes of iodine and crushed shells only with time in the glass. Alcohol: 12.0 % vol., dry.

Food Pairing Suggestions

An ideal companion to shellfish – such as lobster or langoustines with bisque – to grilled turbot, scallops in butter sauce or sushi and sashimi. The intense salinity and minerality make it the perfect partner for dishes with umami-rich, intense sauces.

Special Characteristics

A wine that redefines the boundaries of Pinot Blanc: sea-salt driven, complex, with an almost Burgundian seriousness. Hunter McKirdy’s vision of a terroir-driven Alsatian without compromise – a wine for the curious, one that demands patience and rewards it richly.