Bruno Hunold    

Bruno Hunold

Hey, if I was Bruno Hunold, as soon as I was old enough to hear the first name that my parents had tacked on to the family name, I would have started to complain. On the other hand look at what this does for American wine retailers. When a customer comes in looking for delicious, flavorful, authentic Alsace varietals the retailer gets to say: “You know Bruno Hunold?”

Domaine Hunold

If I had to pick a single grower who shares my ideas about wine, it might be Bruno Hunold. I’ve never discussed this with him, but when I taste the wines and look at the prices I see as if in a mirror exactly what I try to offer to the consumer. Bruno is not trying to make great wine. However he is as hardworking a vigneron as I know. He crops at the maximum the law will allow – but not higher. Few people are aware that those who overcrop can send the excess to be distilled – and keep the right to the Appellation for the rest! In other words, the legal maximum crop for Pinot Blanc is about 6 tons per acre. Many growers will allow yields to mushroom to 9 tons. The excess is distilled, but what is bottled still tastes as dilute as 9 tons per acre! Bruno has not had a drop distilled for over 20 years.

Bruno’s vineyards look like a perfectly tended garden. His vineyards are hand-harvested, an expensive procedure now used for less than half of all Alsace wines. His cellar is immaculate – you could literally eat off of the floor as it is ceramic tile and washed down many times a day.

Vineyards

Confusingly Alsace is divided into Haut and Bas – high and low. High is south and low is north, because we are talking about the Rhine River flowing from its source in Switzerland into the North Sea. The southernmost villages of Alsace tend to be higher in elevation and cooler, with a longer growing season and finer wine.

Bruno’s vineyards are in Rouffach, one of the southernmost towns. As is typical in Alsace, Pinot Blanc tends to be grown on low and relatively flat sites, although Bruno has some parcels in the hills. The rest of his vineyards are high and steep, including 3 acres of Grand Cru ‘Vorbourg’, slightly larger parcels in the adjoining ‘Lutzelthal’ and Riesling entitled to the Cote de Rouffach designation, indicating both high elevation and a steep slope.

Hunolds

This is a true family Domaine. Bruno is hands on in charge of grape growing and winemaking, although daughter Sylvie is increasingly in charge of the cellar (the official title of winemaker will pass to her in a few years). Bruno’s wife Andree keeps the books and manages sales. Bruno’s sister Gabrielle works alongside Bruno in the vineyard as does daughter Valerie and her fiance Thierry.

Valerie does double duty, attending wine fairs and tastings in France and northern Europe. Only daughter Mathilde has left home. She lives in Paris where she is always present at the wine shows, either with Valerie or relieving her when the vineyards require lots of attention at the same time.

In Conclusion

These wines have a brilliance and clarity of fruit and flavor and impeccable balance. Many more ambitious growers in Alsace make wines that are more concentrated – and often heavy, clumsy, unbalanced and tiring to drink. Bruno Hunold’s efforts are the epitome of what an honest farmer can offer the world’s wine consumers for everyday drinking.

The Wines

Hand Picked Selections offers the complete range but virtually all sales are of the four basics, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurztra-miner. This is a shame. I’m not saying that we really need his Pinot Noir, but the higher level Gewurztraminers, Rieslings, and Pinot Gris’ represent values as striking as the basics. Bruno’s Cremant Brut ‘Cuvée du Paradis’ may not take you to heaven, but a glass will surely improve your mood. Unlike most Cremants based on Sylvaner (Bruno doesn’t grow any Sylvaner), it is Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, with a touch of Pinot Gris.