Zind-Humbrecht | Alsace | Gewürztraminer Rangen de Thann Clos-Saint-Urbain Grand Cru | 2017 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Rangen de Thann Clos-Saint-Urbain Grand Cru 2017 (bio)

Sebastian Bordthäuser: A modest entry with an elegant stature and a slender flow. The floral aromas also manifest themselves on the palate with great nobility, never loud, yet emphatically with a delicately pronounced profile. The gustatory windows open, the rose garden in front of the salon is reflected in the soft pink of the drink. With a creamy texture and a persistent finish, this Gewürztraminer combines fragrance, fruit, and aristocratic drinking pleasure with a slender body and great length. For now, next week, or the next decade. Always welcome.

Wine Information

Vintage The 2017 vintage will go down in the history of this winery. For Olivier Humbrecht, it is one of the three best vintages since the winery was founded in 1959. However, this time frost and hail limited the average harvest to less than 20 hl/ha. After an early bud break, two cold spells with sub-zero temperatures on April 21 and 22 exposed even more sheltered areas to frost. An unusually icy east wind killed vines in vineyards like Herrenweg de Turckheim, which had never suffered a frost in the 60 years that Olivier’s father had witnessed. A hailstorm in the Brand vineyard fortunately had no major consequences. Midsummer was hot, August milder, and the harvest began on August 29 with Pinot Gris Roche Roulée, followed by terroirs such as Rotenberg, Heimbourg, Goldert, etc. A light rain on September 2 accelerated ripening. The Rieslings were harvested from September 11 onwards, and the harvest was completed with Rangen, Hengst, and Clos Jebsal on September 26. Only in Clos Jebsal were there minor signs of botrytis. Vineyard Gewurztraminer holds a special place in the Rangen. The volcanic terroir has the ability to significantly alter this grape variety, giving it a unique aromatic profile and distinctive structure. The greywacke of Rangen comes from the dust and ash of the extinct Molkenrain volcano, located a few kilometers away in the Vosges Mountains. Its sediments were deposited on the seabed and then transformed into hard, dense rock. The soil is rich in mineral elements, resulting in a very high dry extract and a salinity in the wines. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Rangen. The two small plots of Gewurztraminer are located in the lower part of the Clos Saint Urbain, directly above the Thur River. This is both the most protected area—ideal for this delicate grape variety—and the one with the most clayey soil at depth. Fermentation: The wine has 26 g/l of residual sugar, 2.8 g of acidity, and 3.65 pH. The harvest was 19 hl/ha.

Colour

Medium straw yellow

Nose

If you compare Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Riesling from Clos Saint Urbain, the first thing you’ll notice about these young wines is their flint-like, gunpowder-like aroma. This reductive note is striking, but dissipates quite quickly. What follows is the marriage of the volcanic rock with this grape variety. The tuff and greywacke make the Gewurztraminer appear light and floating; they almost make it sing. Stony, smoky, fresh, and clear, the wine presents itself in the glass with notes of grapefruit and apricot. Typical nuances of nutmeg and rose petals are only very subtle.

Palate

On the palate, the Gewurztraminer Rangen is powerful and present, with light yellow notes of citrus and stone fruit. On the one hand, it appears creamy with a hint of vanilla, almost smooth and coating the entire mouth; on the other hand, despite a restrained 2.8 grams of acidity, it actually reveals itself to be acidic with a certain pressure on the palate. Added to this is the silky tannin structure with a distinctive saltiness that ensures easy drinking. Rangen represents an ideal terroir for Gewurztraminer, where this grape variety can unfold and acquire a new and unusual character. As with the other 2017s, transparency, clarity and aromatics, texture and structure, as well as a deep minerality, bring greatness to the wine.

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Keywords: Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Rangen de Thann Clos-Saint-Urbain Grand Cru 2017 bio Alsace France

Producer website: http://www.zindhumbrecht.fr/