A mineral Alsace white wine from a high-altitude, limestone-driven monopole vineyard – restrained in fruit yet profound, saline and with enormous ageing potential in the double magnum (3000 ml).
Bottler: Domaine Zind Humbrecht, 4 Route de Colmar, 68230 Turckheim / France
In the glass
Colour
Dense, slightly muted golden yellow.
Nose
Initially closed and in need of a carafe: almonds, pale nuts, wine lees, delicate smoke and light tobacco; once opened, pomelo, pink grapefruit and small red apples over abundant minerality.
Palate
Striking, very precise and seemingly dry, with demanding spice, crystalline salinity and mouth-watering acidity; nutty, yeasty tones alongside discreet citrus and apple peel fruit.
Character
A monument of limestone – dense, profound and multi-layered, rewarding several years of cellar rest with an explosion of complexity.
Pairing
Risotto with white truffle, turbot in a fennel crust with Riesling and shallot sauce and caviar, or young pheasant on savoy cabbage with smoked bacon.
Notes
The Clos Windsbuhl lies very high up at the forest edge on ancient, magnesium-rich sedimentary limestone and was harvested in 2015 a full four weeks after the official picking date in Turckheim – the late-ripening climate of the vineyard site and the Demeter-certified biodynamic viticulture of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht shape this wine of rare depth.
Tasting note
Colour & appearance
Dense, slightly muted golden yellow – even in the glass, this announces a wine of substance and depth.
Nose
Initially closed, almost defiant: almonds, pale nuts, wine lees, accompanied by delicate smoky hints and light tobacco. After generous exposure to air – a carafe is essential here – pomelo, pink grapefruit and small red apples emerge. Density, depth and an exuberant minerality define the bouquet of this limestone monument.
Palate
Striking, precise and carried by a demanding spiciness: a crystalline salinity meets nutty, yeasty notes, while the fruit – citrus and apple skin – still waits discreetly in the background. Appearing dry in the interplay of acidity and cool fruit, it elegantly integrates the residual sweetness into a medium-dry balance.
Finish
Long, saline and vibrant – the chalky minerality of the Windsbuhl lingers for minutes, making it clear that this wine is only at the beginning of its development.
Terroir & origin
The Clos Windsbuhl, a monopole of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, lies high up at the forest edge on ancient sedimentary limestone from the Secondary period. The late-ripening climate of the vineyard site allows for extremely long growing seasons: in 2015, the grapes here were harvested four weeks after the official picking date in Turckheim. Olivier Humbrecht, the first French Master of Wine, farms the estate’s vineyard sites biodynamically; Demeter certification was achieved in 2002.
Grape variety & vinification
Riesling from magnesium-rich limestone soils: the soil lends the wine its distinctive “grainy” element and a juicy acidity that occasionally causes fermentation to finish earlier. Patience is a house principle – no wine leaves the cellar before one to two years of ageing, and at least six months on the lees provide texture and depth.
Food recommendations
Risotto with white truffle, turbot in a fennel crust with Riesling-shallot sauce and caviar or young pheasant on savoy cabbage with smoked bacon and Riesling sauce – dishes capable of standing up to the saline precision of this Riesling.
Special features
The 3000ml Doppel-Magnum is the ideal format for a wine best forgotten in the cellar for a few years: in a large vessel, it matures even more slowly and evenly. Those who can muster the patience will be rewarded with an explosion of complexity – a Riesling that will still have stories to tell in 2040.
