Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Turckheim – 2019

A dry, intense, spicy, stone-fruit flavoured Pinot Gris with racy acidity and stony minerality on the finish. Great value!

Here are Olivier Humbrecht’s detailed notes about the wine:-

Bottling date: 8/2020; Alcohol: 13.6° alc; Residual sweetness: <0.5 g/l; Total Acidity 3.7 g/l H2SO4 (5.7 g/l Tartaric), pH: 3.5; Yields: 55 hl/ha; Optimum drinking period: 2022-2027; Average age of the vines: 28 years; Terroir: gravely soil on valley floor. Indice 1.

The Pinot-Gris grape variety used to be quite rare in Alsace in the mid-20^th century, often commanding some of the highest prices paid for wines in Alsace. These old cultivars would carry small clusters and produce small yields, explaining why growers would only plant it in great vineyards and sell it more expensively. When modern clones were issued, they were planted everywhere and the production of Pinot-Gris increased dramatically, but not always for the best. The domaine was lucky to have some very old vines  that could be selected and reproduced, in order to keep these heritage. The Pinot-Gris is early ripening, and the gravelly valley floor of Turckheim is also precocious. Getting the harvest date right is becoming increasingly difficult and require daily checks so the ripeness isn’t too high. In 2019, the wine fermented bone dry, quite rapidly and was bottled just prior the 2020 harvest.

Tasting note: bright pale yellow colour. Restraint and discreet nose, almost more mineral than fruity, it takes some time to completely open up. Some aeration will reveal sweet Mirabelle aromas and some acacia honey. The palate shows a nice concentration, medium intensity on the middle palate, and eventually becomes more and more impressive on the finish. This is a very dry wine but with a velvety texture and sapid fresh acidity.