It is in the Alsatian village of Mittelbergheim, classified among the most beautiful in France and which counts a good twenty winegrowers, that the Kleinknecht family has been working the land for many generations in the respect of nature and traditions.
Organic since 1998, André Kleinknecht decided to switch to biodynamic farming, following the precepts of his spiritual "guide" Rudolf Steiner, in 2012.
He took the opportunity to get away from the European organic labels and "their specifications too lax" for his taste "by dint of wanting to please as many people as possible" and affixed the DEMETER certification, more rigorous, in 2014.
His viticultural vision is to produce the best grapes possible through meticulous work by being present as close as possible to what is happening at the soil and plant level. And the appearance of horses on some parcels to avoid compressing the soil is another message sent in this sense.
André uses many decoctions of plants such as nettle, valerian, horsetail, dandelion or comfrey, always respecting the living.
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The Kleinknecht family have been making the best of a difficult vintage in 2020 for Pinot Noir. This cuvée is a blend of equal parts Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir co-fermented for 3 weeks in steel. The result? A delicious and juicy blend full of fruit.
Notes of apple, blackberry and fresh yeast alongside great freshness and some tannin structure due to the maceration. A long yet subtle bitter finish makes it a nice wine to pair with charred vegetables, burnt fruit tarts....or anything else with caramel. Funky, kinky & simply delicious.
Fanny Kleinknecht said that the name has different meanings. First because they always have different nationalities during harvest time, which brings a lot of fun. Also, Fanny's husband is Colombian, and for kidding, they called him "Klandestino" but of course "Con Cariño". She told us that Natural wines are in fact a bit like clandestine wines. Hence the cool name and label!