Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl – 2024

Olivier Humbrecht MW’s notes

Bottling date: 8/2025; Alcohol: 14.3° alc; Residual sweetness: 0.5 g/l; Total Acidity: 4.43 g/l H2SO4 (6.8 g/l Tartaric acid), pH: 3.3; Yields: 45 hl/ha; Optimum drinking: 2028-2048+; Average age: 54 years; Terroir: Muschelkalk limestone from Trias, South-East facing. Medium slope. Indice 2/EU Sweet/Medium dry wine.

The Clos Windsbuhl is one of the four great terroirs in the magnificent commune of Hunawihr. It benefits from a late-ripening climate, perched high up and near the Vosges Forest, which reinforces the late ripening character of this vineyard. This wine was the last to be harvested in 2024: on Sunday, October 6^th, 2024, nearly 60 grape pickers hurried to bring in the grapes from Clos Windsbuhl before the torrential rains forecasted for the following day. Being picked late, with the Muschelkalk limestone (shell limestone) influence, is the source of the exceptional structure and finesse of the wines produced from this vineyard. Fermentation was rapid and complete, finishing with a very dry balance.

Olivier Humbrecht MW’s tasting note

Yellow colour/light gold. The nose is beautifully expressive and reveals excellent physiological ripeness with aromas of ripe fruit, spices, and a roasted character often associated with sweet wines. The nose is deceptive, as one prepares to taste a sweet wine, which is far from the case. The palate is lively, energetic, and tight. The beautiful aromatic profile found on the nose reappears, but within a refined structure where the acidity tames and controls this extreme wine. This wine is very dry yet remains elegant and harmonious on the palate. The alcohol is discreet, as the structure of the Windsbuhl dominates the wine. An exceptional wine for this varietal, and one we never thought we could produce.

Press comments

“Combines orange flower, rosewater and smokiness on the nose. The palate is a perfect picture of pink grapefruit zest with all its spicy, tangy aromatics and vivid peach. Aromatically, this is seduction itself; tangy, taut, bright and yet so yielding, so smooth. An utterly sensuous but bone dry Gewurztraminer that has all the allure of a perfectly aromatic pink grapefruit.” 96/100 Vinous.