Riesling Roche Calcaire 2023

Wine Description for Riesling Roche Calcaire 2023 from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht

Colour & Appearance

Rich golden yellow with luminous reflections – a wine that announces its phenolic ripeness visually.

Nose

The warm vintage 2023 has left its unmistakable signature here: rather than upfront fruit, soft spices, preserved ginger, beeswax and linseed oil dominate. The aromatics are fully developed, varietal-typical in their precision and terroir-driven – the fruit deliberately recedes in favour of a spicy, almost meditative foundation.

Palate

Surprisingly taut and vertical after the expansive nose. Fleshy extract meets firm grip, the ripe phenolics define themselves herbal and spicy on the tongue’s edge. Bone-dry, with accelerated momentum in the finish – a wine that holds tension and power in impressive balance.

Finish

Streamlined, precise, with lingering spice. The taut acidity carries long and lends the wine vertical energy.

Terroir & Origin

Several small parcels around Gueberschwihr, south of Colmar, facing east and south. The chalky soils – partly marly, partly siliceous – ensured stable water supply in the hot 2023 vintage. The chalk provides power and volume, the deep-rooted soils a taut, almost austere acidity that demands ageing.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Riesling from vines averaging 49 years old. Heat-induced difficult flowering reduced yields to just 30 hl/ha. Maturation on full lees until January 2025 for additional structure and finesse. 12.5% vol.

Food Pairing Recommendations

Monkfish in saffron sauce, veal sweetbreads with morels, baked goat’s cheese with honey, Comté or aged Gruyère. The spicy phenolics also pair well with roasted poultry or pork with herb crust.

Special Characteristics

A vertical type with powerful approach – young and almost austere, but with enormous ageing potential. A classic Zind-Humbrecht terroir statement: plenty of wine for the price, rewarding patience.