Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Roche Volcanique – 2019

Here are Olivier Humbrecht’s tasting details about this wine:-

Bottling date: 2/2021; Alcohol: 14° alc; Residual sweetness: 1.1 g/l; Total Acidity 3.7 g/l H2SO4 (5.6 g/l Tar), pH: 3.4; Yields: 35 hl/ha; Optimum drinking period: 2022-2031; Average age of the vines: 36 years; Terroir: Sedimentary volcanic rocks, facing South, very steep slope. Indice 1.

When we acquired the Clos-Saint-Urbain vineyard on the Grand Cru Rangen in 1977, about half of the land wasn’t under vines and needed to be planted. This very steep vineyard requires a lot of hard manual work and some surfaces were left abandoned in the middle of the 20^th century. Most vintages, the vines planted in the 70s and 80s are separated from the very old vines that qualify as Grand Cru. This wine clearly show all the originality of a volcanic geology which is unique in Alsace. They are also cultivated the exact same way as the older vines (ploughing with a winch for example). The biggest difference would be on the crop size. The Roche Volcanique is made with low yields, but the older vines produce even less! For these ‘younger vines’ we aim for very healthy grapes (no noble rot) in order to achieve a dry wine. For some unexplainable reason, the wines from this vineyard also tend to ferment fast and would keep little residual sweetness, as is the case here in 2019.

Tasting note: pale yellow colour. The nose exhibits the classic smoky/flinty character so typical of the volcanic soil. Medium intensity but with a strong sense of place. As much as the nose is still slightly closed, the palate shows power and intensity with a persistent saline texture. This is a very dry wine with a relatively strict mouthfeel but high drinkability. The combine effect of a great acidity and mineral composition create a long lasting mouth-watering finish. Not a complete Rangen, but really not far from it!