Change is good

Change from? Well, have a dive into my Zind-Humbrecht posts from about the first ten years’ of this website. Most of them are about Riesling wines; the same, only worse, is true of Pinot Gris.

Change to? Read on…

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain 2023, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht

I do not usually comment on the colour of wines unless there is something remarkable about them. So, this is deep green with hints of yellow!

Initially, the noise is quite grassy with hints of smoky minerality. It has just been opened, so I will give it a swirl for a couple of minutes.

Yes, a bit of air has given it Pinot Gris density. ‘Density’, that is, not ‘fat’. It has an incredible fulgurating, smoky minerality straight from Vulcan’s forge. It is powerful and aromatic, but all those flavours are very precisely delineated in character, very controlled.

Some of you might not be used to Alsace Pinot Gris – Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris, no less – described thusly, so let me give you an idea of what sort of wine the aromas remind The Editor and me of.

Imagine a really good, but not too big Wachau Smaragd from someone thrilling – FX Pichler top vineyard kind of kit – big, powerful, intense, but controlled, tight and with a steel rod up the arse of the steel rod up its arse. You can smell the fruit, minerality, dry extract and acid. Prepare yourself for a precise, focused palate.

It has Alsace Pinot Gris power, and a smouldering character from the vineyard, but it is certainly not fat, not even broad. There is lovely fruit, great energy and vivacity flickering through it, all with, yes, great focus and precision. I would be surprised if there were even 2g/l residual sugar here. This is astoundingly delicious.

What a lovely wine! Such are the focus, balance, and complexity I find myself thinking I would like another bottle to age for at least five years. This is an unusual thing for me to say about a Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris. It is not like many Alsace Pinot Gris I have had.

Involute, harmonious, long, and extremely pleasing. Pinot Gris-, and long time Zind-Humbrecht-doubters, do go out of your way to try some.