2010 Riesling, Brand, Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace

2010 Riesling, Brand, Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace

Product: 20108113586
 
2010 Riesling, Brand, Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace

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Description

60 yo vines, mauve granite soils, steep south facing slope and 33 grams RS makes for a potent brew! Brand is a prodigious Grand Cru vineyard whose heat and humidity triggers noble rot easily, as per in 2010 when this wine effectively became a Vendange Tardive. Medium sweet, this is immaculately turned out with bristling acidity to balance out the sugar and noble rot, but it tastes drier than you expect looking at the figures; the sign of a great vineyard. Drinking till 2035 at least.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Alsace Buyer)

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate94/100
Combining fruit from the Steinglitz and core Brand with a majority from the relatively deeper-soiled Schneckenberg portion of this grand cru, Zind-Humbrechts 2010 Riesling Brand Vieilles Vignes retains unusually high acidity even by vintage standards and was very slow to ferment leaving behind 34 grams of residual sugar at 12.9% alcohol, features that no doubt owe much to the influence of botrytis, even though the most significantly affected bunches were culled to generate a V.T. bottling. (That virtually all of the vines were to some degree affected explains the absence of a corresponding non-Vieilles Vignes bottling, since the estate has trained its customers to associate obvious absence or presence of both sweetness and noble rot with the distinction between regular and Vieilles Vignes brand bottlings.) Rowan, honeysuckle, mint, maraschino, almond extract, apricot preserves and candied lime peel combine for a headily alluring, high-toned aroma and reemerge on a luscious and creamy yet simultaneously bright, juicy palate, frangipane and marzipan being reinforced in a long, vibrant finish by the wines overt sweetness, yet harmoniously marrying with fresh fruit as well as liquid floral flavors and in no way engendering a confectionary overall impression. This will merit restraint as it develops further interest in bottle and should reward return visits through at least 2035.
David Schildknecht - 28/08/2014 Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Zind Humbrecht

Domaine Zind Humbrecht

The wines of Olivier Humbrecht M.W. need little introduction, possessing great depth, exactitude as well as generosity…like the man himself.

The Humbrecht family viticultural roots can be traced back to The Thirty Years War of 1620. Today they own forty hectares across five villages in the Haut-Rhin, the southern half of the picturesque vineyards overlapping the Vosges foothills, treasured for its idyllic climate, tapestry of terroirs as much for its half-timbered houses.

The domaine has vines in 4 Grands Crus - Rangen (Thann) 5.5 ha, Brand (Turckheim) 2.4 ha, Hengst (Wintzenheim) 1.4 ha, Goldert (Gueberschwihr) 0.9 ha as well as Single Vineyards; Rotenberg (Wintzenheim) 1.8 ha, Clos Häuserer (Wintzenheim) 1.2 ha,  Herrenweg (Turkheim) 11.5 ha, Clos Jebsal (Turkheim) 1.3 ha,  Heimbourg (Turkheim) 4 ha and Clos Windsbuhl (Hunawihr) 5.2 ha.

Olivier has arguably overseen the most notable improvements in the estate’s illustrious history: a new cellar in 1992 while retaining the traditional ‘foudre’ oval barrels; initiating biodynamic practices in 1997 (certified in 2002); and the buying of a horse in 2006 to plough the vineyards!

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Riesling

Riesling

Riesling's twin peaks are its intense perfume and its piercing crisp acidity which it manages to retain even at high ripeness levels.

In Germany, Riesling constitutes around 20% of total plantings, yet it is responsible for all its greatest wines. It is planted widely on well-drained, south-facing slate-rich slopes, with the greatest wines coming from the best slopes in the best villages. It produces delicate, racy, nervy and stylish wines that cover a wide spectrum of flavours from steely and bone dry with beautifully scented fruits of apples,apricots, and sometimes peaches, through to the exotically sweet flavours of the great sweet wines.

It is also an important variety in Alsace where it produces slightly earthier, weightier and fuller wines than in Germany. The dry Rieslings can be austere and steely with hints of honey while the Vendages Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles are some of the greatest sweet wines in the world.

It is thanks to the New World that Riesling is enjoying a marked renaissance. In Australia the grape has developed a formidable reputation, delivering lime-sherbet fireworks amid the continental climate of Clare Valley an hour's drive north of Adelaide, while Barossa's Eden Valley is cooler still, producing restrained stony lime examples from the elevated granitic landscape; Tasmania is fast becoming their third Riesling mine, combining cool temperatures with high UV levels to deliver stunning prototypes.

New Zealand shares a similar climate, with Riesling and Pinot Gris neck to neck in their bid to be the next big thing after Sauvignon Blanc; perfectly suited is the South Island's Central Otago, with its granitic soils and continental climate, and the pebbly Brightwater area near Nelson. While Australia's Rieslings tend to be full-bodied & dry, the Kiwis are more inclined to be lighter bodied, more ethereal and sometimes off-dry; Alsace plays Mosel if you like.

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