Auxerrois has found a real home in Alsace, where the world’s best such wines are made (yes, there are few good Auxerrois wines made in Luxembourg, but volumes are so small that they are hard to find outside of local drinking circles). (Beware that Auxerrois Gris is a synonym for Pinot Gris and Auxerrois Noir is a synonym for Malbec.)
Auxerrois was long confused with Pinot Blanc, and this is why in Alsace the wine law states that any wine labelled Alsace Pinot Blanc can be made with both varieties, but the two, I repeat, are NOT one and the same. The overwhelming majority of Alsace Pinot Banc wines are either all or in part made with Auxerrois; in fact, true 100% Pinot Blanc wines are rare in Alsace as most such labeled wines are anywhere from 20-100% Auxerrrois. And so, you still find many in Alsace who label their wine as Pinot Auxerrois (they do so at Josmeyer too), which isn’t quite correct; but old habits die hard, and so it has always been so in the region. Actually, it’s a curious state of affairs, given that the two grapes give completely different wines. You really do not need to be an expert to distinguish between the wines made with these two grapes: one sip will immediately tell you which is which. While Pinot Blanc wines are (depending on the degree of ripeness of the grapes) crisp and brimming with fresh orchard fruit, mineral and beeswax nuances, wines made with Auxerrois are much thicker and luscious on the palate, and convey aromas and flavours of honey and sweet spices. When Auxerrois is grown in too warm a climate and not on the ideal soil, the wine tends to be heavy and cloying, and has little interest. But when it finds itself in the right hands and the right place, then it can become something to wonder about, as its wines are marvelous. This is precisely the case with Josmeyer’s legendary ‘H’ bottling.
