Pinot Noir (from the Ahr to Gevrey)

Hello,

Myth. Legend. Moody. Mercurial. For many, the crowning expression of any terroir. We let six terroirs speak — through the lens of Pinot Noir. From Sancerre to Gevrey, with stops in the Ahr, the Kaiserstuhl, the Pfalz and Burgenland.

A Sancerre that deliberately steps outside the AOC. A Pinot Noir from a 60% slope on the Ahr. An Alsatian Pinot from amphora. A Styrian Pinot parcel that already stood in 1980 — a quarter-century before the Austrian Pinot boom. A Gevrey-Chambertin, biodynamic since 1995, earlier than its neighbours.

This journey is available as two six-bottle packages: Classic (approx. 197 €) and Premium (approx. 355 €) — same stations, different depth.

Sancerre · Ahr · Kaiserstuhl/Alsace · Pfalz · Pannonia · Burgundy

The packages

Both packages drop all six bottles into the cart with one click. From there you can swap, remove or combine individual wines — even across the two tiers.

1 · Sancerre — the cool north

200 km north-east of the Côte d'Or, on the coolest edge of French Pinot country. Three soil types: Kimmeridgian marl (as in Chablis), Oxfordian limestone and silex. Pinot is traditionally Sauvignon's smaller sister here — slimmer, redder-fruited, with an iodine-saline length.

Free Spirit Classic · approx. 32 € Les Poëte Odyssée VdF 2020 A young Sancerre vigneron who deliberately declassifies this cuvée to Vin de France. Raspberry, cherry blossom, herbs, salty length. Pinot almost like a serious Beaujolais. To the wine →

Silex Premium · approx. 66 € Vacheron Sancerre rouge „Belle Dame“ 2020 Vacheron is the Pinot address of Sancerre — biodynamic, on silex rather than limestone. Cherry, black tea, graphite, finely powerful tannins. Like a young Volnay. To the wine →

2 · Ahr — slate steep slope

One of the smallest German wine regions, wedged between Bonn and Koblenz. Slate, greywacke, slopes up to 60%. Pale red and translucent in the glass, salty-mineral on the palate, with that iodine trace only slate brings to a wine. Bertram-Baltes has redefined the Ahr over the last decade.

Village Wine Classic · approx. 27 € Bertram-Baltes Ahrweiler Pinot Noir 2023 The village wine. Several parcels around Ahrweiler, all on slate. Sour cherry, rosehip, salty-iodine length. Serve at 14°C. To the wine →

Single Vineyard Premium · approx. 37 € Bertram-Baltes Ahrweiler Forstberg 2023 A step further: single vineyard Forstberg, Devonian slate, south-facing. Cherry and cassis, violet, dark slate stone, longer aftertaste. Will gain over five years. To the wine →

3 · Kaiserstuhl & Alsace — volcanic and biodynamic

At this latitude the soil shifts. In the Kaiserstuhl, loess-loam sits over volcanic rock — a 16–18 million year old volcano. In Alsatian Wettolsheim, calcareous marl and sandstone, partly granitic material from the Vosges. Both warm islands, both drier than Sancerre. Pinot here turns fuller-bodied, darker-fruited.

Erste Lage Classic · approx. 28 € Franz Keller Oberbergener Bassgeige Erste Lage 2023 A curving south-facing site on the Kaiserstuhl, volcanic loess. Blackberry, dried cherry, pepper, restrained toasty notes. Premier-Cru-equivalent at the price of a village wine. To the wine →

Amphora Premium · approx. 41 € Albert Mann Outrevin 2023 Across the Rhine. Albert Mann has been Demeter-certified since 2010, third generation in Wettolsheim. Outrevin is matured in amphora. Blueberry, hibiscus, bright spice, unexpectedly saline. To the wine →

4 · Pfalz — Muschelkalk and VDP discipline

Germany's warmest wine region, almost Mediterranean. Pinot grows here on Muschelkalk — fossil sea floor, high in lime. Here Pinot puts on body: weightier, denser, more floral than the slate-Pinot of the Ahr. Rebholz and Christmann are the two poles — one puristic, one baroquely rich.

Muschelkalk Classic · approx. 28 € Rebholz Pinot Noir „R“ dry 2022 Hansjörg Rebholz's entry-level Pinot. Grapes from several Muschelkalk sites around Siebeldingen. Sour cherry, cranberry, anise, slim style. Pfalz pure: dry, salty, no make-up. To the wine →

Buntsandstein Premium · approx. 60 € Christmann Königsbacher Ölberg Erste Lage 2021 Steffen Christmann, former VDP president, family estate since 1845. Ölberg is Erste Lage on Buntsandstein. Black cherry, violet, herbs, long spicy aftertaste. At its peak in two years. To the wine →

5 · Pannonia & South Styria — warm Austria

East of Vienna the Pannonian climate begins — continental, hot, dry. Pinot turns darker, with ripe black cherry instead of Sancerre raspberry. An hour to the south, on the Slovenian border, lies South Styria: damper, fossil sea floor instead of loam. Both regions produce Pinot that stands shoulder to shoulder with Burgundy — just not on price.

Natural Wine Classic · approx. 32 € Heinrich Pinot Freyheit 2023 Gernot Heinrich, Pannobile co-founder, biodynamic — open vats, no additions. Three sites on Lake Neusiedl. Black cherry, elderberry, tobacco, velvety tannins. To the wine →

Old Vines Premium · approx. 72 € Tement Pinot Noir Alte Reben 2022 We featured this one in the Tement newsletter two weeks ago — but it belongs here too. One of the oldest Pinot plantings in Styria, raised in the Burgundian way. Sour cherry, blood orange, violet, dried thyme, salty edge. To the wine →

6 · Burgundy — the homeland

Back to the source. On a narrow strip between Dijon and Beaune, barely 60 km long, Pinot found its classic style two thousand years ago — on pale calcareous marl, with red fruit, a forest-floor note and silky texture. Burgundy isn't the best Pinot in the world — but it is the reference point against which all the others are measured. The five before, too.

High Altitude Classic · approx. 50 € Buisson Saint-Romain „Sous Roche“ 2020 Saint-Romain sits 100 metres above Meursault — later harvest windows, tauter acidity. Buisson is Demeter, third generation. Wild strawberry, pepper, chalky finish. To the wine →

Côte de Nuits ★ Premium · approx. 79 € Trapet Père & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 2022 The finale. Trapet is one of the historic addresses of Gevrey, biodynamic since 1995. Several parcels around the village. Black cherry, peony, mushroom, liquorice, chalky aftertaste that carries on for minutes. The yardstick by which Pinot is measured. To the wine →

The packages

As always, a suggestion, not a closed set: individual bottles can be swapped, removed or mixed across the tiers in the cart.

Prefer to browse on your own?

We carry over 350 more Pinot Noirs — from Sancerre Rouge to Grand Cru, from the Wagram to the Mosel.

Warm regards from Berlin,

David & the team at
Living Wines

P.S. — The right glass

Zalto Burgundy

2-glass set · approx. 101 €

Pinot only releases its aromas through volume. The bowl-shaped form is calibrated precisely for that.

To the Zalto Burgundy →