Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Rangen de Thann Grand Cru – 2008

“Whereas the Humbrechts’ wines from the Rangen are generally their highest in alcohol – the corresponding 2007 having set an arguably dubious estate record of 16.4% – the 2008 Gewurztraminer Rangen Clos Saint Urbain sets a near-low of only 12.0%, while harboring (at 64 grams) by no means the highest residual sugar in this year’s collection of non-V.T. Gewurztraminers. What also sets a new record for a Z-H Gewurztraminer is the wine’s high acidity: 9.3 grams, which would have had many a grower reaching to acid-”adjust” a Riesling! Olivier Humbrecht can offer no clear hypothesis for the peculiar chemistry and ripening curve in effect, though he feels sure that the timing and character of botrytis – not to mention, as usual, the extreme nature (including low pH) of Rangen soil – are relevant factors. The upshot is as remarkable sensorially as it is on paper. Yellow cherry, mirabelle, quince, and lemon mingled with celery seed, rose petal, and struck flint on the nose pick up a lip-smackingly saline and pungently smoky, peat-like cast on a silken-textured yet invigoratingly bright palate. This delivers a positively uplifting not to mention Pavlovian sense of finishing stimulation as well as a kaleidoscopic interaction of fruit and mineral elements. I would anticipate it being worth following for at least two decades and gaining in complexity.”

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate