Samares et Strobiles 2024

Wine Description for Samares et Strobiles 2024 by Hunter McKirdy

Colour & Appearance

Slightly cloudy garnet – a fascinating sight for a Pinot Gris, which here reveals its true nature as a „cépage gris“. The dark pigmentation of fully ripe grapes lends this unconventional wine its remarkable red colour.

Nose

Intoxicating and multi-layered: light red berries and vineyard peach meld with ginger and spiced pear. After decanting – which this wine practically demands – orange zest, cranberries and cool graphite notes unfold. An aromatic world that combines red wine complexity with the finesse of Pinot Gris.

Palate

Gripping and distinctive. Skin contact gives the wine a fine phenolic grip and a tannin structure you wouldn’t expect from Pinot Gris – but therein lies the magic. Spicy and hearty, with the vibrant acidity one knows from Alsace. On the palate, the kinship to Pinot Noir is far more evident than in any other Pinot Gris.

Finish

Long and sustained, with echoes of cinnamon and apple skin. The aftertaste is spicy and cool at once – a finish that calls for food.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Pinot Gris, vinified like a red wine – just as Hunter McKirdy also produces his Pinot Noir. Skin contact with the pigmented skins extracts colour, tannins and texture. A radical, yet logical approach to an often underestimated grape variety.

Terroir & Origin

The name alludes to the elms (Samares) and larches (Strobiles) that grow on the vineyards from which the grapes originate – a poetic reference to the Alsatian landscape and its biodiversity.

Food Pairing Recommendations

This wine seeks pairing with food: braised rabbit, Coq au Vin, roasted duck with apple, mushroom risotto or aged Comté. Also a fascinating bridge between white and red wine accompaniment with sea trout or tuna tataki.

Special Features

A wine that breaks categories and invites contemplation. Hunter McKirdy proves that Pinot Gris can do far more than saccharine mainstream wines. This is orange wine meets red wine – Alsatian tradition reimagined.