2008 Gewurztraminer, Clos Saint Urbain, Rangen de Thann, Grand Cru, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace
Critics reviews
David Schildknecht - 02/05/2011
(The Wine Spectator, November 2010)
About this WINE
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!
Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer is a high quality white grape which produces classic varietal wines in the Alsace region of France.
It is the second most widely planted grape in Alsace and the most widely planted in the Haut-Rhin where it is particularly well suited to the clay-rich soils found in the Vosges foothills. It is normally fermented dry and produces golden, medium to full-bodied wine with heady aromas of lychees, rose petals and white peaches.
It attains naturally high sugar levels far in excess of Riesling and this makes it ideal for sweet, late harvest wines. These can be unctuously sweet and luscious and the best can last for decades. Rieffel, Hugel and Zind Humbrecht consistently produce the finest Gewürztraminer wines in Alsace.
It is also planted in Germany (specifically in the Rheinpfalz and Baden regions), Austria, the Alto Adige in Italy and to a lesser extent in Australia, New Zealand and California. Gerwürz means spice in German, although this pink-skinned grape tends to produce exotically perfumed rather than spice laden wines.
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Description
Whereas the Humbrechts wines from the Rangen are generally their highest in alcohol the corresponding 2007 having set an arguably dubious estate record of 16.4% the 2008 Gewurztraminer Rangen Clos Saint Urbain sets a near-low of only 12.0%, while harboring (at 64 grams) by no means the highest residual sugar in this years collection of non-V.T. Gewurztraminers. What also sets a new record for a Z-H Gewurztraminer is the wines high acidity: 9.3 grams, which would have had many a grower reaching to acid-adjust a Riesling! Olivier Humbrecht can offer no clear hypothesis for the peculiar chemistry and ripening curve in effect, though he feels sure that the timing and character of botrytis not to mention, as usual, the extreme nature (including low pH) of Rangen soil are relevant factors. The upshot is as remarkable sensorially as it is on paper. Yellow cherry, mirabelle, quince, and lemon mingled with celery seed, rose petal, and struck flint on the nose pick up a lip-smackingly saline and pungently smoky, peat-like cast on a silken-textured yet invigoratingly bright palate. This delivers a positively uplifting not to mention Pavlovian sense of finishing stimulation as well as a kaleidoscopic interaction of fruit and mineral elements. I would anticipate it being worth following for at least two decades and gaining in complexity.
David Schildknecht - 02/05/2011
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