Auction update: Domaine Albert Mann

Domaine Albert Mann’s biodynamically farmed estate is the perfect location to produce some of finest white – and red – wines in Alsace.

ALSACE IS a mosaic of vineyards, home to a blend of grape varieties and produces a range of dry white wines, light red wines and sweet white wines. Its cool, continental climate, with dry, warm summers, lends itself to organic and biodynamic viticulture – something that Domaine Albert Mann knows inside-out. Domaine Albert Mann brings together two of Alsace’s greatest winemaking dynasties: the Mann and the Barthelmé families, who can trace their involvement in this profession back to the 17th century. With brothers Maurice and Jacky Barthelmé at the helm, the estate started using biodynamic practices in 1997, gaining organic certification in 2000 and Biodyvin certification in 2013. They work the soil with horses, leave vegetation between every other row of vines and use their own compost and biodynamic preparations to feed the soil.

Located in Wettolsheim, just south of Colmar, the estate covers 25 hectares in the heart of the Alsace wine region. The vines are spread over roughly 100 different plots with various soil types, the perfect ingredients to create quality wine.

Domaine Albert Mann has six grands crus parcels to its name, amounting to 7ha, as well as the 1ha Clos de la Faille, which it owns in its entirety, and the Saintes Claires plot – both planted with Pinot Noir.

That brings us on nicely to the grape varieties grown on the estate. Riesling makes up 31% of the vines, followed by Auxerrois (19%), Pinot Gris (18%), Gewürztraminer (17%), Pinot Noir (12%) and Muscat (3%). On average, the vines are 35 years old, but the property also has a plot of old vines that are more than 60 years old, and a magnificent parcel of Gewürztraminer planted in the 1920s. Talking of Gewürztraminer, wines made from this grape variety appear regularly at iDealwine auctions and prove to be very successful. Gewürztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles Grand Cru Furstentum 2011, a sweet late-harvest wine, sold for €75 in January 2025.

Having said that, it was one of Domaine Albert Mann’s other sweet wines, L’Épicentre 2010, from the Schlossberg Grand Cru, crafted from Riesling, which was the estate’s joint highest-priced lot on the French auction website in 2024. The half-bottle went under the hammer for €75, or €150 when scaled to the standard 750ml. Some of the estate’s other wines crafted from the noble Riesling grape also perform well at auction. These include Grand Cru Schlossberg 2014. A bottle from this vintage was sold for €69 in November 2024, while a bottle from the more mature 1995 vintage also went under the hammer in November last year, auctioned for €84.Domaine Albert Mann is also renowned for its exquisitely crafted Pinot Noirs. These go down very well on the secondary market and with wine critics alike. Pinot Noir Les Saintes Claires 2022 received a 100-point score from The Wine Advocate in February 2025, which undoubtedly increased interest in the wine’s different vintages.

Twenty-nine bottles of Pinot Noir from the estate were auctioned on iDealwine last year, including a bottle of Les Saintes Claires 2020, which fetched €150. An exceptional Pinot Noir, which enthusiasts tend to hold on to zealously.

Popular with enthusiasts

Another of the estate’s Pinot Noir wines, Clos de la Faille, also proves to be popular with wine enthusiasts. The cherry-red wine possesses supple tannins and balancing acidity, making it perfect for pairing with poultry or mushroom dishes. The 2009 vintage went under the hammer for both €88 and €106 in 2025, following a bidding battle over the latter. Meanwhile, two bottles from the 2015 vintage sold for €75 and €81 in May 2025, and a bottle from 2017 went under the hammer for €81 in February this year. The estate produces fabulous wines from all the varieties it grows, but there has been a lot of talk about its Pinot Noirs in recent years due to the fact that these wines represent a brilliant choice for wine lovers looking for French Pinot Noir without the Burgundian price tag – a secret some wine enthusiasts uncovered long ago.

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The value of Domaine Albert Mann’s red wines is on the rise, something we can see with Les Saintes Claires 2020, for example. Its estimated value has risen by 9.09% over the past 12 months, a statistic that can surely be linked to the quest for Pinot Noir produced outside Burgundy.

Meanwhile, Clos de la Faille 2017 has seen its value soar by 20.55% in two years. Wines from Domaine Albert Mann are prized possessions of wine enthusiasts around the world. France is home to the greatest number of wine lovers so ly buying the estate’s bottles, quickly followed by those in South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong and Belgium. These are exquisite wines that are a joy to taste. And, while Alsace still makes up a minuscule number of bottles going under the hammer at iDealwine, it is currently the hunting ground of choice for the most well-informed connoisseurs, thanks to the quality of the wine being produced there.