Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: Alsace, France
Cost: ~$16
Winemaker’s Notes: This glorious pinot noir is surprisingly deep with dark in relation to some other Alsatian pinot noirs with dusty black cherries, plums, and fascinating earthy minerality and slate that carry more tobacco leaf, light Asian spices, and even a hint of espresso…great structure and power considering its modest weight! This is one of the great vintages in Alsace in many years and it shows in this crunchy and flavor-packed pinot noir.
My Review: Man I really liked this wine. And, for the price, I really wish that I had bought more of it during the marathon sale at Last Bottle Wines. C’est la vie.
In the glass the wine was a light, ruby red color with hints of brick red around the edges. On the nose I got aromas of strawberry, dried herbs, and spices, while on the palate I got herbs, dried fruit, tart strawberry, more of the spices, dry earth, and a touch of rhubarb.
For our anniversary, my wife and I bought ourselves an Ooni Koda 12″ pizza oven. We opened the Ginglinger-Fix Pinot Noir with our inaugural try at making pizza with it (there’s a learning curve; we’re getting better at it). The herb notes and earthy notes really sang with the perfectly charred crust, and the strawberry and spice went well with our first attempt at a Margarita pizza.
That being said, I think a nice mushroom risotto or mushroom-based pasta (ravioli or the like) would be an amazing option for pairing with this wine since they would really pull out the earthy notes that make this wine really something special.
Pinot Noir is consistently one of my go-to varieties. I like how versatile it is with food, and that it’s great just by itself. The 2019 Ginglinger-Fix Pinot Noir is a great example of just that–as enjoyable as this was with food, it would have been just as good by itself. And, at this price, it’s almost a no-brainer to grab at least a few bottles to have around the house; don’t make the same mistake as me.
