The phrase "it's in the family" could begin to describe the wines of Suzanne and Pierre Arnold but it wouldn't fully do them justice. Their roots are deep — three centuries deep — in the medieval town of Dambach-la-Ville, which teeters culturally on the edge of France and Germany and physically on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Pierre's family has been making wine here since 1711. He took over 274 years later, in 1985.

Their children and grandchildren have gone on to live in the modern world but Suzanne and Pierre remain firmly planted here, with Suzanne manning their tiny tasting room (in our memory, illuminated by candelight) and Pierre scuttling through the cellar and the vines, where he feels most comfortable. They are of another time but most definitely of this place, which you're reminded of the moment you discern the chalk scrawled on their barrels: "Nous empruntons à nos ancêtres" (we are borrowing from our ancestors).

The family's eight hectares of vines sit on a mixture of granite and various types of mica that retain heat and let water filter through. Tasting their wine, you have the impression it was squeezed from these stones — after all, Pierre insists "c'est pas la cave qui fait du vin. C'est la vigne" (wine is not made in the cellar; it’s made in the vineyard). In his eyes, it is a conduit to the past, a liquid imprint: from their stately, grandma-chic Tricentenaire (a cuvée of Pinot Gris they dreamed up to commemorate their 300 year anniversary) to their salt of the earth Pinot Noir élevé en pièces (which we nicknamed 'Droit Comme un I' — straight as an arrow) to their Diamant Liquide - Riesling en Barrique (Pierre's experimental barrel of Riesling sur lie which tastes, in our mind's eye, of liquid diamonds). Perhaps most emblematic is their Vin Nature—all jasmine and lavender on the palate—so named when they realized there was a word for what they'd been making for centuries.

PIERRE ARNOLD

Country: France

Region: Alsace

Sub-region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville

Winemakers and Owners: Pierre Arnold, Suzanne Arnold

Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009

Terroir: Mainly granite, with two types of mica that retain heat and let water filter through; at the bottom of the hill the soils are sandy as well as alluvial

Domaine Size: 8 ha

Website: vins-pierre-arnold.fr
Facebook: Pierre Arnold

PIERRE ARNOLD :: Vin Nature

A traditional, centuries-old style of Alsatian white wine made for modern times. This unfined and unfiltered wine places the emphasis on the natural processes that occur in the vineyards, processes that have been respected since the time of the first vignerons in the Arnold family some 300 years ago. Delicious then, and still delicious now. Textural and perfumed, Alsatian elegance and rusticity at their best.

Vintage: 2021
Grapes: 40% Pinot Gris, 40% Pinot Noir, 20% Riesling
Style: White Wine
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines: 35 years old
Soils: Granite, some mica
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Riesling are pressed together and left to spontaneously ferment in one stainless steel tank
Aging: 9 months in the same stainless steel tank
Fining or Filtering: None

PIERRE ARNOLD :: Gravé Dans Le Granit

Pierre's Grand Cru Riesling is brimming with so much minerality you could swear the juice had flowed straight from the granite to arrive in your glass.

Vintage: 2021
Grapes: Riesling
Style: White Wine
Alcohol Content: 12%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines:
Soils: Granite, some mica
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Direct pressed
Aging: Stainless steel
Fining or Filtering: none

PIERRE ARNOLD :: ‘Diamant Liquide’ Riesling en Barrique

This is Pierre's experimental barrel of Riesling sur lie, a wine that spends over a year and a half on the fine lees, but still pierces with linear acidity. The sleek acid is beautifully balanced with a rich texture, clean minerality, and a lemon oil finish. Notes of white peach, white flowers and preserved lemon shine through.

Vintage: 2020
Grapes: Riesling
Style: White Wine
Alcohol Content: 12%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines: 30 years old
Soils: Granite, some mica
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Direct pressed into white Burgundy barrels
Aging: 18-20 months in white Burgundy barrels; gentle process of roulage instead of batonnage 3-4 times a year to incorporate lees
Fining or Filtering: none

PIERRE ARNOLD :: ‘Droit Comme un I’ Pinot Noir

This Alsatian pinot noir presents us with all of the best qualities that a cool climate red wines can possibly achieve: deep and elegant black fruits, regal and present acidity, and earthy minerality. Aged in Burgundy pièces for 20 months, the wine begins with a delicate hint of gentle spice but is brought up to its tippy toes with the pull of lifted acidity.

Vintage: 2020
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Style: Red Wine
Alcohol Content: 13%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines: 40 years old
Soils: Granite, some mica
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: fermented in stainless steel tank for 10-15 days
Aging: 20 months on lees in used red Burgundy barrels
Fining or Filtering: none

PIERRE ARNOLD :: Mon Trésor

Sylvaner gets the "Diamant Liquide" all-star treatment in this brand new cuvée from Pierre and Suzanne. Sylvaner is pressed direct into Burgundy barrels and left to age on the lees for 18-20 months.

Vintage: 2020
Grapes: Sylvaner
Style: White Wine
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines: 35 years old (planted in 1986)
Soils: Sandy granite with two kinds of mica
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Slow direct pressing into used Meursault barrels
Aging: 20 months on the fine less in used white Burgundy barrels, gentle process of roulage instead of batonnage 3-4 times a year to incorporate lees
Fining or Filtering: none

PIERRE ARNOLD :: L’Amour Glou

Pinot Noir from calcareous clay soils, macerated a handful of hours before pressing. Aged sur lie in stainless steel tanks. Bright, acid-driven, with notes of wild strawberry.

Vintage: 2021
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Style: Rosé Wine
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines: 22 years
Soils: Clay and limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Maceration for a few hours before pressing
Aging: Fermentation and aging sur lie in large vats
Fining or Filtering: none

PIERRE ARNOLD :: Pinot Gris Tricentenaire

Pierre Arnold is an old-school winemaker making old-school wines, but his wines are anything but boring and traditional. The Cuvée du Tricentenaire celebrates the 300 year anniversary of Pierre Arnold's family of winemakers living and farming in Northern Alsace. This is a wine of great finesse, persistence, and surprising freshness. Aromatic, ripe orchard fruit, balanced spice. Finishes much drier than your typical Alsatian Pinot Gris and pairs well with gastronomic pursuits.

Vintage: 2016
Grapes: Pinot Gris
Style: White Wine
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Region: Alsace, France
Sub-Region or Appellation: Dambach-la-Ville
Viticulture: Certified Organic 2009
Age of Vines: 35 years old
Soils: Granite, some mica
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Direct pressed into used Burgundy barrels
Aging: 18 months in used Burgundy barrels; gentle process of roulage instead of batonnage 3-4 times a year to incorporate lees
Fining or Filtering: Unfined