Domaine Zind-Humbrecht : Pinot Gris Grand cru "Clos Saint Urbain Rangen de Thann" 2024

Characteristics and tasting notes for the Pinot Gris Grand Cru "Clos Saint Urbain Rangen de Thann" 2024 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht

Tasting notes

Colour
This white wine reveals a brilliant, crystalline colour with a beautiful intense golden-yellow hue. Its apparent viscosity bears witness to its rich concentration.

Nose
Wonderfully complex, the bouquet opens with powerful volcanic notes evoking gunflint, smoke and raw minerality. It then reveals aromas of well-ripened white fruits such as peach, pear and apple. With aeration, subtle touches of honey, mead, candied fruit and sweet spices come to enrich this olfactory palette.

Palate
The palate offers a velvety, dense and almost oily texture, while retaining a harmonious balance. The power of this wine is accompanied by a remarkably long finish, marked by a mineral, saline acidity that brings great freshness despite the ripeness of the berries.

Food and wine pairing

This white wine pairs wonderfully with delicate seafood, oysters, scallops or an oily fish such as salmon. It also complements herb-roasted white meats, mushroom dishes such as a porcini risotto, as well as moderately spiced Asian cuisine. Finally, it pairs perfectly with regional specialities such as foie gras, tarte flambée or a well-matured Munster cheese.

Service and storage

Built for a very long evolution, this Pinot Gris Grand Cru "Clos Saint Urbain Rangen de Thann" 2024 boasts remarkable ageing potential, allowing it to be cellared for several decades.

Other characteristics

This wine has a sweetness index of 2 on the estate's scale, corresponding to approximately 10 grams per litre of residual sugar. It thus offers a very slight roundness while retaining a fundamentally dry profile on the finish. Its alcohol content is approximately 13.5%.

The pure, mineral expression of a great volcanic white wine from Alsace

The estate

The Humbrecht family's winemaking history in Alsace, in north-eastern France, began in 1620, but it was in 1959 that Domaine Zind-Humbrecht was officially founded in Wintzenheim, following the marriage of Léonard Humbrecht and Geneviève Zind. Now run by Olivier Humbrecht, the first French Master of Wine, and his wife Margaret, the estate spans 40 hectares. A certified biodynamic pioneer since 2002, the estate is renowned for its commitment to producing authentic wines that precisely reflect the uniqueness of each terroir through very low yields.

The vineyard

The Rangen de Thann is the highest terroir in Alsace, reaching an altitude of 467 metres. This spectacular vineyard is distinguished by its extremely steep slope, reaching a 90% gradient, and its due-south exposure, overlooking the Thur river. Its geology is unique in the region, consisting of a purely volcanic soil rich in greywacke, tuff, iron and magnesium. The Clos Saint Urbain, a monopole of the estate, takes its name from the historic chapel built at the heart of these terraced vineyards, which were passionately restored starting in 1978.

Winemaking and ageing

The creation of the Pinot Gris Grand Cru "Clos Saint Urbain Rangen de Thann" 2024 relies on long pressing and short clarification phases to preserve natural yeasts and proteins. Fermentation takes place under temperature control with indigenous yeasts, followed by natural malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged for 18 months on fine lees in forty-year-old French oak barrels, before resting in bottle.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Gris