2012 Riesling, Clos Saint Urbain, Rangen de Thann, Grand Cru, DomaineZind-Humbrecht, Alsace

2012 Riesling, Clos Saint Urbain, Rangen de Thann, Grand Cru, DomaineZind-Humbrecht, Alsace

Product: 20128125992
Prices start from £400.00 per case Buying options
2012 Riesling, Clos Saint Urbain, Rangen de Thann, Grand Cru, DomaineZind-Humbrecht, Alsace

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £400.00
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £450.00
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

The Riesling in Rangen is a very mineral wine, full of yellow fruit, lime juice, peaches and nectarine. The palate offer fresh citrus zest, smoke laden aromas and lots of flinty characters. This should comfortably keep at least until 2025.
Laura Atkinson-Godwin, Private Account Manager

Rangen de Thann is the most southerly of the Alsace vineyards and one of the rare terroirs capable of a defined expression of that terroir through all the grape varieties. The vines are planted at high densities along the very steep slopes, they are trained low, close to the soil to benefit from the warmth of the soil and rock. This warmth is needed by the late ripening vineyard to perfectly ripen the grapes at the end of the growing season. The Rangen is a challenging terroir to work and to maintain.

The steep slopes necessitate many small terraces created with dry stone walls, requiring regular repair and maintenance. The impact of erosion and heavy rainfalls can also be significant on this terroir.  All the wines from Rangen are concentrated, have superb length and depth and possess a great ageing potential. Rangen’s signature is a harmony of structure, acid and salinity. The volcanic soil imprints a specific aromatic character and unique personality to the wines grown on this soil. Flint and smoke are the two descriptors most often associated with the wines from this terroir.

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Wine Advocate97+/100
One year of maturation estranged the golden-yellow color of the 2012 Riesling Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain from the citrus-colored label, which opens as deep and rich as it is concentrated and mineral. The first contact with the flinty, lemon-fruity nose makes immediately clear that this is a great and expressive Riesling and, no doubt about this as well, one of the greatest white wines on planet wine. How intense and ripe it is, how deep and concentrated, how floral and matured, and how perfumed with the essence of volcanic rocks. Powerful, intense, compact and stony on the palate, this is a highly elegant, dense, stony, and expressive wine with an endless and highly complex finish. The essence of the Rangen? Close to perfection? At least one of the greatest European Rieslings I had from 2013. Who would have thought that in the autumn of 2012? The vineyard was hit by an intense hail storm in early August when 20 to 50% of the crop was destroyed. Oliver Humbrecht: Fortunately, being very early in the season, the storm removed parts of clusters, and in some sectors the entire cluster, but did not affect the grapes left on the vine. This vineyard had a hard time in 2012 and it was capable to fight back superbly, producing an emotional wine. Humbrecht assumes that the crop reduction also explains the richness of this wine, which, amazingly, was able to ferment dry.
Stephan Reinhardt - 30/10/2015 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!

Find out more
Rangen de Thann

Rangen de Thann

The Rangen de Thann vineyard is located in the Alsace region of France, specifically in the village of Thann. It is one of the most famous and prestigious vineyards in Alsace, known for producing high-quality Riesling wines.

The Rangen vineyard is unique in several ways. It is one of the steepest vineyards in Alsace, with slopes that can reach up to 60 degrees. This steepness allows for excellent drainage and exposure to sunlight, which helps the grapes ripen fully and develop complex flavours.

The soil in the Rangen vineyard is also unique. It is composed of volcanic rock, which gives the wines a distinct mineral character. This mineral character is often described as flinty or smoky, and it adds complexity and depth to the wines.

The Riesling wines produced in the Rangen vineyard are known for their intense aromas, vibrant acidity, and long ageing potential. They often have flavours of citrus, stone fruit, and white flowers, with a pronounced mineral character.

Find out more
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.

Find out more