“The 2023 Gewurztraminer Furstentum Grand Cru immediately charms with crushed citrus foliage that is fragrant, citrus-scented and bright. This comes down to Albert Mann’s own massal selection, which eschews rose and lychee notes. With more air, the wine shows a touch of peach. The palate is absolutely juicy with Reine Claude plum, wonderfully kissed with gentle fruit sweetness of 23 grams per liter and edged with zestiness. The finish rings with zest and puts a very different spin on Gewurztraminer. (Off-dry) Drinking window: 2030-2060. 96 points

Antoine Barthelmé presented stupendous wines. The 2023 Pinot Noirs are simply exquisite, while the vivid 2024 Rieslings vindicate great sites and stand as a testament to this family’s sterling work. This remains one of Alsace’s best domaines. Barthelmé said that 2024 “was challenging. It required precise viticulture and doing every task at the right moment. For instance, de-budding saved us, not spraying more, but having a really clean canopy.” Barthelmé believes that the combination of his own youthful energy and his father’s experience is Albert Mann’s greatest advantage, especially in a vintage like 2024. Father and son are always out in the vineyards with the team, which was especially crucial in a year when sites like Wineck-Schlossberg had to be sprayed by hand. Barthelmé also pointed out how localized the rain was; Kaysersberg, Kientzheim and Sigolsheim were drier than Wettolsheim. Grapes matured slowly and did not accumulate much alcohol, but they had sufficient time to develop aromas. The domaine did not make a Gewurztraminer from the Furstentum Grand Cru in 2024.”

Anne Krebiehl, Vinous (03/26)

“In 1984, Albert Mann was a small winegrower with just 2.5 hectares/6 acres of vines when his daughter Marie-Claire married Maurice Barthelmé. The domaine had bottled its own wines since 1947, and Maurice Barthelmé set the course for expansion. His brother Jacky Barthelmé joined the company in 1989. The brothers were determined to make quality wine and wanted the best sites. They started applying biodynamic farming methods in 1997 but did not become certified until 2017. Today, the estate owns 25 hectares/62 acres with holdings in seven grand crus and exports to 45 countries. Maurice Barthelmé and Marie-Claire Mann are now retired, and Jacky Barthelmé’s son Antoine has joined the domaine to work in the vineyards and cellar. Pauline Barthelmé, Maurice’s daughter, joined the estate in 2022 on the commercial side. Antoine Barthelmé studied in Beaune and followed this with stints at Alphonse Mellot in Sancerre, Rippon in Central Otago, Stéphane Derenoncourt’s consultancy in Bordeaux and Georges Noëllat in Vosne-Romanée. Domaine Albert Mann planted Pinot Noir in the grand cru sites of Hengst and Pfersigberg as early as 1963; the house is a beacon for that variety today. Albert Mann is another top estate at the vanguard of Alsace. Jacky Barthelmé’s attention to detail is almost obsessive, as is his desire to express his sites. An extraordinary amount of passion informs the ethos of the estate that can be felt in the exceptional and supremely expressive wines – especially in the gorgeous Pinot Noirs.”

Anne Krebiehl, Vinous (04/23)

“From old vines in the Wettolsheim Rosenberg and the Kientzheim Altenbourg, the 2022 Pinot Gris Cuvée Albert opens with flinty reduction on the fresh and fruit-intense yet also stony nose. Round and generous on the rather smooth palate, this is a quite rich and intense, smooth but seriously long and finely tannic Pinot Gris that represents the richness of this variety but comes as a dry, textural and well-balanced wine that needs richer dishes. Sealed with a screw cap, this is anything but an aperitif or easygoing wine. It has a saline, intense and elegant finish. 14% alcohol. Tasted at the domaine in April 2024. Drink: 2025-2040. 92 points

The last few years have not been getting any easier, not even in Alsace. Increasingly, drought and heat are affecting the vines, and the younger they are, the more they suffer. In any case, the Barthelmé family is fortunate to have such a high proportion of old vines that are not affected by drought stress. Even in 2022, it was possible to produce a magnificent Schlossberg Riesling that is among the best I have ever tasted from this Riesling-granite site, which is endangered due to its barrenness. It seems unlikely that this wine could be topped by a 2022 Pinot Noir – Les Saintes Claires. But that’s how it was, and in the end, I left the 100 points as they were and didn’t revise them. There aren’t that many 100-point Pinots in our database, and if they do exist, they haven’t come from Alsace before. Is Alsace now a new stronghold of Pinot Noir? Certainly not. But the region is developing rapidly in this regard. Nevertheless, I believe that this Barthelmé Pinot is a rare stroke of luck not only for the family but also for the entire Alsace and for all Pinot Noir lovers. Here, in this vintage, everything was just right, and the wine is a magnificent expression of a small but very special limestone plot that is planted in high density with the very best genetics. Although I have only been tasting Albert Mann reds for 10 years, the development of the estate over this short period has been so successful that it has become a beacon in France. It is therefore fortunate that the next generation is ready and waiting, or is already having a noticeable influence, with Jacky and Marie-Thérèse’s son Antoine.

By the way, the first grand cru Pinot Noir from the Hengst (formerly called Grand H) is also terrific, not to mention the Gewürztraminer from the Furstentum.”

Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate (02/25)