It all began with a legend: in the 7^th century, Saint Imer is said to have brought down a griffin that was threatening the parish of Gueberschwihr, over which the saint stood guard. The grateful villagers named the village's best vines, the Sanktimeriushalde after Saint Imer and contemporary documents record that a special tithe was established.

If you take a more down-to-earth view, the history of the Clos Saint-Imer restarted in 1934, when Ernest BURN – whose family had been making wine for some 300 years – decided to revive this historic vineyard which had been parcelled up during the Revolution, destroyed in successive wars and ravaged by phylloxera.

Ignoring the mockery of his colleagues, Ernest bought up the land, parcel by parcel and, with the help of his family, built the walls back up, opened up the paths, cleared the ground and replanted all the vines.

The vines of the Clos Saint-Imer (there is a chapel dedicated to the saint), are now at the height of their powers. The BURN family has made it their task to produce wines worthy of this magnificent terroir. The work is hard and mainly manual, with no reliance on mechanisation. Deep respect for nature and painstaking vinification are just two more elements that go towards making great wines.