Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru – 2023

Olivier Humbrecht MW’s notes

Bottling date: 8/2024; Alcohol: 14.0° alc; Residual sweetness: 3.4 g/l; Total Acidity: 2.7 g/l H2SO4 (4.3 g/l Tartaric acid), pH: 3.6; Yields: 43 hl/ha; Optimum drinking period: 2027-2047+; Average age of the vines: 72 years; Terroir: Marl-Oligocene limestone. South-South-East facing, medium to steep slope. Indice 1/EU dry wine

Climate change in Alsace is mainly marked by an advancement of harvest dates and a significant temperature increase during the ripening period (August/September). It would be logical to think that with such a change, a grape variety like Gewurztraminer would be harvested with greater maturity and would become increasingly sweeter or high in alcohol with a loss of acidity. In fact, we are witnessing the opposite. Hengst is a solar terroir, it ripens earlier but phenolic maturity is also earlier thanks precisely to longer days and better sunshine in September versus October or even November. Botrytis is absent, fermentations are more vigorous, as is the case in 2023. The Hengst limestone, rich in iron, also makes it possible to obtain complex tannins, essential for this grape variety which should in fact be compared more to a red wine (tannins, low acidity, high maturity) than to a white wine! This 2023 will have been able to ferment dry without excess power. A great dry Gewurztraminer is a wine that is still rare in the region, but it is a surprising wine and above all one that allows for extraordinary food pairings.

Olivier Humbrecht MW’s tasting notes

1/2025: Pale golden yellow colour. Dense nose of spices, pepper, anise, oregano… almost on its reserve which may seem surprising for a grape variety that is often too aromatic. The aggressive limestone of Hengst dominates. It gives the wine a tight, precise structure, where the noble tannins bring freshness and length on the finish. The aromatic is revealed more in the mouth than on the nose at this still young stage of the evolution of this wine. Velvety finish but without thickness.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around the supernatural vitality and mineral freshness of this incredibly concentrated dry gewurz. The saline minerality and Amalfi lemon freshness are so dynamic and intense. The purity of the finish is far from what most of the world associates with this grape. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.” 98/100pts James Suckling