| "He may very well be the ultimate intellectual of the wine world, a god from Alsace."
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate
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Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris
Clos Windsbuhl 2010
REGION: Alsace
VARIETAL: 100% Pinot Gris
PRICE: $80.00 / Bottle
FORMAT: 6 x 750 ml
CSPC: +033688
AVAILABLE: 9 cases
94 points - Wine Spectator
"Rich and compact, with tightly knit layers of yellow peach, star fruit, kumquat, melon, beeswax and ground ginger flavors that gain intensity from a laser beam of acidity. Finely meshed and refined in texture, but nonetheless powerful all the way through to the lingering, spice-tinged finish. Drink now through 2027"
October 31, 2012
Average age of the vines: 41 years
Terroir: Muschelkalk calcareous soils in south/southeast facing vineyard
Indice 2
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2007 pictured - 2010 vintage available
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Zind-Humbrecht Pinot-Gris
Heimbourg 2010
REGION: Alsace
VARIETAL: 100% Pinot Gris
PRICE: $60.00 / Bottle
FORMAT: 6 x 750 ml
CSPC: +279786
AVAILABLE: 3 cases
92 points - Wine Spectator
"Mouthwatering, with lovely notes of honey and orchard blossoms accenting flavors of dried apricot and papaya, orange zest, cantaloupe and smoke. Pure and focused, with a lingering echo of minerality. Drink now through 2025."
October 31, 2012
Average age of the vines: 25 years
Terroir: West facing with marl-calcareous soils
Indice 2
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Zind-Humbrecht Riesling
Rangen de Thann Clos-Saint-Urbain Grand Cru 2010
REGION: Alsace
VARIETAL: 100% Riesling
PRICE: $99.00 / Bottle
FORMAT: 6 x 750 ml
CSPC: +674184
AVAILABLE: 2 cases
93 points - Wine Spectator
"A lovely wine, with a minerally undertow and finely tuned acidity framing apricot, kumquat, acacia blossom, smoke and crystallized honey notes that show a hint of lychee. A zesty thread of spice winds through the wine and lingers on the subtle finish. Drink now through 2025."
October 15, 2012
Average age of the vines: 48 years
Terroir: Very steep, south facing vineyard on sedimentary volcanic rock
Indice 1
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Zind-Humbrecht Muscat
Goldert Grand Cru 2010
REGION: Alsace
VARIETAL: 100% Muscat (90 % Muscat d'Alsace & 10 % Ottonel)
PRICE: $65.00 / Bottle
FORMAT: 6 x 750 ml
CSPC: +817916
AVAILABLE: 2 cases
91 points - Wine Spectator
"An elegant version, displaying refined acidity that meshes seamlessly with layers of flavor: cantaloupe, pink grapefruit zest, blood orange, pickled ginger and lots of ground spice. Shows good intensity through to the minerally finish. Drink now through 2020."
October 31, 2012
Average age of the vines: 23 years
Terroir: East facing on Oolithic calcareous soil
Indice 2
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2009 pictured - 2010 vintage available
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Zind-Humbrecht
Gewurztraminer Calcaire 2010
REGION: Alsace
VARIETAL: 100% Gewurztraminer
PRICE: $50.00 / Bottle
FORMAT: 6 x 750 ml
CSPC: +279794
AVAILABLE: 4 cases
91 points - Wine Spectator
"Dry and lithe, with good focus and a range of blood orange, pink grapefruit, floral, spice and passion fruit flavors, without being heavy. A thread of smoky minerality runs through the wine and shows on the finish. Drink now through 2020."
October 31, 2012
Average age of vines: 27 years
Terroir: Blended from the Hengst and Goldert Grand Crus. West facing with Oligocene calcareous soils and East facing with Oolithic calcareous soils.
Indice 2
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Olivier Humbrecht
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Olivier Humbrecht
Olivier Humbrecht is one of the world's most renowned winegrowers. He is a Master of Wine and has been described by Robert Parker as the greatest white winemaker on earth. Yet he is very soft spoken, humble, and self-deprecating, which makes him perfectly suited to his assumed role as a global ambassador of wine. He is a champion of terroir, biodynamic farming principles, and non-interventionist winemaking, whose family have been winegrowers in Alsace for 12 generations (since 1620). He is immensely proud that although his family domaine is 'only 40 hectares', there are at least 28 people (and two horses!) working there at any time: eight times more than normal at twenty-five times the cost. Tractors are never used in the vineyards; harvesting is 100% manual. Yields are low. Herbicides and pesticides are never used. There are no pumps in the winery; the wine is never filtered; no cultured yeasts are used; the wine is aged in old oak barrels only ("we NEVER use new oak"), with wines kept on full lees for at least nine months to produce a "nicely reductive" character.
Zind-Humbrecht wines are concentrated, complex, vibrant, and balanced. Olivier would say that concentration and complexity are a natural product of all the hard work that goes into farming the land in a way that is respectful of terroir; that the wines are vibrant because they come from healthy vineyards where the soil is alive; and that the wines must be balanced because farming biodynamically ensures the vines grow in harmony with nature. And he would not be too shy to say that the wines better be great given all the hard work and dedication that is devoted to them.
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A note on Indice levels:
It is notoriously difficult to determine the sweetness of an Alsatian wine by simply looking at the bottle. Traditionally, all Alsatian wines not labeled as Vendange tardive or Sélection de Grains Nobles were dry. In recent years many producers have begun making fruitier wines with residual sugar, but there is no official labeling that differentiates completely between dry, off-dry and even sweet styles. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the relationship between residual sugar and acid changes from vintage to vintage. Frustrated by this confusion Oliver created an Indice code that he places on every single bottle to assist consumers. His system works as follows:
Indice = the perceived level of sweetness on the palate. This note combines the sweetness, acidity, alcohol and overall structure of the wine. It ranges from 1 to 5.
1: technically dry or tasting dry.
2: not technically dry, but sweetness not apparent on the palate. Some tasters might find some roundness on the finish.
3: medium sweetness, especially present when the wine is young and might gradually disappear with the ageing.
4: Sweet wine
5: High sweetness, VT in richness without the usual botrytis
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