A powerful, sweet Alsace white wine from two very old plots in the heart of the Hengst Grand Cru in Wintzenheim – shaped by red calcareous marl, high iron content and complex spicy aromatics.
Bottler: Domaine Zind Humbrecht, 4 Route de Colmar, 68230 Turckheim / France
In the glass
Colour
Dense, radiant golden yellow.
Nose
Immense power with ginger, orange zest, lavender oil and lilac; after some air, cardamom, cumin, gingerbread spice, leather, wood smoke, light tobacco, forest honey as well as apricot, grapefruit and banana emerge.
Palate
Sweet and powerful with honey and spices, yet surprisingly fresh – spectacularly precise acidity and profound, complex minerality ensure a lovely flow on the palate.
Character
A classic, proud Gewürztraminer with backbone: dense, spicy and mineral, with fine tannin density from the iron-rich terroir – still young and intended for bottle ageing.
Pairing
Truffle risotto with crispy guinea fowl breast, Munster cheese with caraway in brick pastry with a forest honey glaze, or chickpea tart with spiced figs.
Notes
Comes from the Hengst Grand Cru with its warm, dry microclimate – where the estate has farmed biodynamically since 1996, Demeter-certified since 2002; a wine that is ideally opened a day before drinking and possesses great cellaring potential.
Tasting note
Colour & appearance
Dense, radiant golden yellow – a wine that promises in the glass alone that nothing here has been done by halves.
Nose
Unmistakable, opulent, almost dramatic: fresh ginger, orange peel, lavender oil and lilac rise first. With air – the wine rewards you if you open it a day beforehand – cardamom, cumin and gingerbread spice join in, along with darker registers: leather, wood smoke, light tobacco and forest honey. Beneath them lie apricot, grapefruit and banana, which will gain even more definition with bottle age.
Palate
Powerful, chest puffed out with pride: sweet honey and spice burst onto the tongue, yet the true miracle is the surprisingly precise, fresh acidity – quite a feat for this variety, as Gewürztraminer naturally brings little acidity to the table. A deep, compact minerality carries the wine, lending it a beautiful flow despite all its richness.
Finish
Long, spicy and mineral-driven. The aftertaste of honey and spices lingers – a wine that will only set off its full fireworks in a few years’ time.
Terroir & origin
The grapes come from two very old plots in the heart of the Grand Cru Hengst near Wintzenheim. Red marl-limestone soils with a high iron content and a warm, dry microclimate give the wines of this vineyard site their characteristic tannin density and spiciness. Olivier Humbrecht – the first Frenchman to hold the Master of Wine title – has farmed the domaine according to Demeter-certified biodynamic principles since 2002; on the steepest plots, horses are once again pulling the ploughs.
Grape variety & vinification
Pure Gewürztraminer, vinified sweet. The variety is considered difficult and demanding – it requires very ripe skins and good tannin ripeness, almost like a red wine grape. At Zind-Humbrecht, patience is also the guiding principle: no wine leaves the cellar before one to two years of ageing, and at least six months on the lees ensure the dense texture.
Food recommendations
A wine for daring pairings: Munster cheese with caraway, baked in brick pastry and glazed with forest honey, alongside chickpea tart with spiced figs or truffle risotto with crispy guinea fowl breast. It also handles Asian dishes with ginger and chilli with ease.
Special features
It is a rarity for a sweet white wine to possess perceptible tannins – here they are thanks to the iron-rich terroir and the warm microclimate. Olivier Humbrecht calls the 2018 the “absolute proof” that Hengst and Gewürztraminer belong together. A magnificent specimen for the cellar: whoever buys now and waits will be rewarded with an experience rarely found in Alsace.
