According to official sources, the Frick family has been growing vines for 12 generations, in the village of Pfaffenheim, nestled in the Upper Rhine, a few kilometers south of the city of Colmar, in the southern quadrant of the appellation Alsace AOC. The descendants of this family, Jean-Pierre, married to Chantal, and his son Thomas Frick, cultivate 12 hectares of vineyards, spread within a radius of 15 kilometers from the winery, from 3 different Grand Cru (Steiner to Pfaffenheim, Vorbourg to Rouffach and Eichberg to Eguisheim), vinifying them under the Domaine Pierre Frick label. It is one of the most important Domaine ever since Jean-Pierre was one of the pioneers in embracing an organic productive philosophy (1970) and, later (1981), biodynamic. But that’s not all, because hewas also one of the theoreticians who spent the most to make this philosophy (biodynamic) known around the world.
It was an obstacle course because, like all pioneers, there were no reference models and therefore it was necessary to experiment, even in an excessive way, as between 1970 and 1980 when no work was done on vineyards, excluding inter-row manual mowing. After this experiment it was reverted back to a less extreme but still radical management, with the exclusive use of preparations 500 (cornoletame), 501 (cornosilice), the one of Maria Thun (a mix of cow dung, basalt, egg shells and 6 preparations obtained from the dynamisation of compost), and Bordeaux mixture (copper sulphate neutralized by lime), in addition to the abandonment, since 1999, of land-processing machinery. In the cellar there is the same maniacal care, with pneumatic presses that crush the grapes very slowly (it takes more than 5 hours to press every single batch), fermentations that spontaneously take place without temperature control, and thanks to indigenous yeasts, with the abandonment of any wine concentration operation (reverse osmosis and vacuum evaporation) or must enrichment. With regard to the aging it was choosen large barrels (3000liters) with over a century of life, now totally neutral, and as for the bottling the addition of SO2 has been almost entirely abolished, with the bottles permanently corked with the stainless steel crown cap, which ensures a uniform maturation over time and a good aging potential.
The Pinot Noir Stangenberg comes from grapes of the homonymous vineyard that ferment spontaneously and macerate for 10 days on the skins, before aging for a few months in cask. The 2018 vintage has a deep ruby color with orange streaks, and a range of scents that opens on notes of vinyl, durone, green branch of cinchona and pot pourri of violets, followed by pomegranate, cooked plum, roasted coffee and dark leather, with echoes of graphite and incense. The taste immediately strikes for the acidity and, progressively, for the tactile sensation of the green branch of cinchona, which makes its way to the center of the palate, along with tannins that are still very young but already elegant, and a thread of softness and sapidity; all enriched by the return of incense, pomegranate and vinyl that accompany the sip to a fresh and vibrant closure.
Rating: 89/100
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