|
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
2011 Riesling Terroir d'Alsace Vin Sec - $44.90
"Olivier Humbrecht's 2011 Riesling Terroir d'Alsace is sourced primarily from sites that previously informed a Turckheim bottling, though also from the Herrenweg, and is finished with the five grams of residual sugar that he is treating as the maximum for his Terroir cuvee, one he wants his customers and consumers to associate with a top-notch, dry-tasting Alsace Riesling. Fresh lime, cassis, and redcurrant - wreathed in iris and musky narcissus perfume - dominate with a bright juiciness, zest and tang by no means to be taken for granted in this vintage. This is firm in feel but by not austere. Hints of kirsch and pistachio extract add to the appeal of a lingering finish of cut, refreshment and positive piquancy. While meant to be enjoyed young, I have every confidence in this bottling's ability to delight through at least 2020."
- eRobertParker.com #214 91 points
2010 Muscat Grand Cru Goldert - $69.90
"At 12.5% and a full degree lower in alcohol than its Herrenweg counterpart, Zind-Humbrecht's 2010 Muscat d'Alsace Goldert hides its ten grams of residual sugar thanks to efficacious acidity and extract. The bittersweet floral elements hinted at in the former here blossom into a greenhouse-like panoply allied to cooling, high-toned evocations of mint and Thai basil, fresh lemon and orange. The sense of citric refreshment and energetic ping here - not to mention transparency and sheer persistence - go well beyond those exhibited by that already outstanding Herrenweg, and the interactive complexity on display extends to a shimmering sense of mineral matter allied to saliva gland-milking salinity. This exhilarating, fantastically penetrating and dynamic exhibition of a site and genre that have long collaborated to achieve greatness chez Zind-Humbrecht, testifies eloquently to the wisdom of their transition from Ottonel to (now virtually 100%) petit grains vines. It is bound to remain stunningly delicious as well as versatile through at least 2030. To be sure, this is as riveting a youthful Muscat d'Alsace as I have ever encountered, but I would like to make clear that the very greatest wines of my experience from this genre have all been ones with a dozen or more years bottle age (and were usually Zind-Humbrecht Golderts)."
- eRobertParker.com #214 95 points
2010 Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain - $114.90
"White peach and grapefruit - strongly tinged with pit and rind - lend Zind-Humbrecht's 2010 Riesling Rangen Clos Saint Urbain lusciousness and winsomeness well beyond those displayed by its immediate siblings. To be sure, significantly lower total acidity, higher pH, and (at 9.5 grams) higher residual sugar, are scarcely incidental to that effect, and this wine is plenty bright and zesty. A smoky aura and palate suffusion of peat and black tea such as are associated with this site are very much present, and the invigoratingly energetic penetration of this Riesling's strikingly long, focused finish is accompanied by a no less notable impression of levity thanks at least in part to analytically modest (12.5%) alcohol. The infectious juiciness here promises to last decades - I wouldn't want to drink my last bottle before 2035 - and if surplus reserve of extract and sense of energy count toward age-worthiness that may well prove a conservative estimate. This is the vintage that Rangen needs to show its greatest potential. But there have not been many such cool growing seasons of late."
- eRobertParker.com #214 94 points
2011 Riesling Clos Windsbuhl - $114.90
"In a departure from typical recent behavior, Zind-Humbrecht's 2011 Riesling Clos Windsbuhl (last tasted from cask) fermented to a mere four grams of residual sugar. Yet, it reached only a modest 13.4% alcohol. This boasts hazelnut and walnut piquancy, musky inner-mouth perfume, and juicy white peach and lemon on a palpably dense, expansive, yet somehow also buoyant palate. Where the corresponding Clos Hauserer bore at least superficial resemblance to Chablis, here one might detect some kinship with Meursault. In either case, there is an undeniable sense of chalky, stony underpinnings as well as a vibratory finishing intensity with a sense of animation and sheer juiciness rare for the vintage. Plan to follow this through at least 2028. "
- eRobertParker.com #214 92-93 points
About
 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 and 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 the 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 are 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.
- www.Trialto.com
|
The first hectares of vines at this estate were planted in 1875, with the cellar being built in 1926. At this time it was the first private cellar in Rasteau but vine growing and winemaking did not really start until 1930 when the cereal crops and olive trees were removed in favour of more Grenache and Carignan vines. The current owner, Jean Pierre Bertrand, started working at the estate in 1989 and purchased the estate at 1999. It was at this time that he asked his friend, Philippe Cambie, to help him with his wine business. Today, Jean Pierre is running a 20 ha estate and annually produces nearly 200hl in Cotes du Rhone and 500 hl in Rasteau. The estate is composed mostly of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre, on clay and limestone soil. The viticulture and vinification are very traditional, Jean-Pierre started step by step to give up any chemical treatment and to plough the entire vineyard all year round. Here, the ancestral and traditional methods are combined with modern viticulture practices to produce authentic wines of strong character. The harvest is destemmed at 100% and vinification takes place in concrete tanks and old french oak barrels. The wines show you what the terroir is in Rasteau and they are generous and powerful, with spicy notes, black fruits and "garrigue".
