The 2021 vintage from Dönnhoff
One of the vinous highlights of the year for us is the release of the latest vintages from Olivier Humbrecht MW at Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace. Every year, the expression of identity and terroir in his top cuvées reminds us of why we fell in love with wine. The latest 2021 vintage has just been released, in very limited quantities, with scores from 95-100 points from Jamessuckling.com.
Alsace produces some of the world's greatest white wines and Olivier is one of its greatest winemakers. The value and quality offered (by the grands crus, in particular) are extraordinary, grown on centuries-old sites, composed of highly complex soils thrown up by the steep slopes of the Vosges mountains.
If you are unsure where to start with this range of wines, it's worth noting that Humbrecht's white winemaking style is savoury and terroir-driven. Perhaps you have encountered varieties like Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer and found them highly perfumed, without the structure we associate with styles like white burgundy...but Olivier's wines are quite different.
Rather than a 'varietal' style of winemaking, Humbrecht's whites tend to express their sense of place first and foremost. With their naturally pronounced acidity and influence of white grape tannins, which Humbrecht likes to emphasise, these wines have marvellous tension. This is particularly true of the cool, elegant 2021s; wines with beautiful minerality. As well as having excellent structure and expressing the identity of Alsace so brilliantly, these are 'food wines' par excellence and will enhance so many different foods.
Alongside the lieux-dits and grands crus, for the second year, we are offering the 'Zind' Chardonnay Auxerrois, equal in quality to some of the best domaine-bottled Bourgogne Blancs. Classified as a humble 'Vin de France', because Chardonnay is not permitted to be labelled under the Alsace appellation, this is from an excellent limestone-dominated vineyard and is great value at just £115 per six in bond!
You can read more about Domaine Zind-Humbrecht at the foot of our offer, below.
Offered pre-landing, available by January 2024.
| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl | 75cl | £251 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl 2021 / / 75cl £251 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl is from older plots of Gewurztraminer in the upper part of Windsbuhl on Triassic limestone. Its nose displays honey, lemon-edged rose petals and fresh ginger. While the nose signals sweetness, the palate is bone-dry, super-textured and shows full-on pithiness, shimmering with bitter almond and marzipan. The wine is dry, playing with your senses - a fantastic game that sets the tastebuds on high alert. The lemon zest finish is full of spice and really long. Wow. (Bone-dry) 95 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com------"A super-clean and crisp wine for gewurz with an intensely chalky minerality that takes your breathe away. So clean and bright it’s light years away from what anybody expects from this grape. Lovely zesty citrusy freshness at the finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 95 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru | 75cl | £251 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru 2021 / / 75cl £251 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru is from Oligocene limestone with some clay. This is made from the two oldest plots the domaine owns, planted between the two World Wars. Old Gewurztraminer genetics are less aromatically overt than current selections. Here, an earthy reduction comes first. As it dissipates, peach and pear shine through, just edged with a touch of rose petal. The palate is juicy, rounded and generous, almost dripping with peach juice and Mirabelle, but dry. The structure comes from texture rather than acid, which is balanced and fresh. Lovely citrus pith bitterness defines the palate and the dry finish. (Dry) 94 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com------"This has almost exactly the balance that I remember from the great gewurz of the late 20th century. Fragrant turkish delight character, rich yet dry with a wonderful interplay of ripeness, a mere hint of grape sweetness and complex spiciness. What a beautiful finish! From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 97 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Muscat Goldert | 75cl | £174 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Muscat Goldert 2021 / / 75cl £174 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Muscat Goldert Grand Cru comes from a mix of limestone and clay with deep topsoil, a site famed for Muscat. A gentle orange zest and orange blossom fragrance is clouded with some reductive smoke. The palate is smooth, rich and almost viscous. Still, the wine is dry, with a lovely lemon notion of acidity, softened by malolactic fermentation, which also took some of the varietal headiness. This results in a gently aromatic, fine, light bone-dry wine that will evolve beautifully. (Bone dry) 94 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com------"The extrovert fruit on the nose with plenty of exotic floral notes makes you think this is going to be a sweet late-harvest wine, but it’s bone-dry with a vibrant pink grapefruit character. Super-elegant balance with great precision at the long, very delicate finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 95 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl | 75cl | £251 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl 2021 / / 75cl £251 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl has a flicker of reduction and shows off subtle russet pear, ripe and gentle. The palate has a pear peel texture and seems almost austere with its bone-dryness. A lemon touch makes the mouth water and becomes more intense towards the dry finish, which holds some gingerbread spice, ginger and cinnamon. Gorgeous and different. (Bone-dry) 94 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com------"A rich and vibrant pinot gris that manages to also be light, delicate and graceful. Very deep and cool finish that pulls you down into dark ocean waters where you encounter the mystery of this great wine. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 96 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Riesling Clos Windsbuhl | 75cl | £302 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl 2021 / / 75cl £302 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Riesling Clos Windsbuhl is grown on Triassic limestone, facing east to southeast, on the upper part of the clos with less topsoil. The age of the old vines is unknown, estimated to be 65 years old. The younger vines were planted in the early 1980s. Windsbuhl means windy hill and used to be referred to as petit Sibérie - so it comes into its own now. Reduction takes over on the nose, but underneath, there are gentle glimpses of lemon. The palate has a real phenolic edge, a lovely, pithy bitterness that lends contour to the lemony flow. Lovely flashes of passion fruit pop up, upping the aromatic game, lending allure to flavor and texture, underlined by a bone-dry finish. (Bone-dry) 95 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com------"A noble wine that’s extremely subtle and delicate, the power seriously underplayed, almost hiding in the many corners of this shy beauty. Super-elegant interplay of ripe acidity, medium body and silkiness. Great aging potential. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 95 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain | 75cl | £380 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain 2021 / / 75cl £380 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain Grand Cru is from the famously steep and dark volcanic rock of Rangen with some sandstone inclusions. The soil is rich in potassium which buffers the pH of the wine, making the acid less strident yet lending much power to the wines. The oldest plots of Riesling are up to 60 years old; the younger vines are 45 years old. The color is golden. Underneath the reduction is a spicy smokiness, with greengage and white pepper. There is something utterly fluid, intense, compact and concentrated that seems to have a total verticality, driving into the depth of the rock. The wine has luminous citric yet balanced freshness and is clear as a bell. Wait for this because it will be sensational. The finish is bone-dry and salty. (Bone-dry) 96 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com------"Welcome to the dark side of the dry riesling force where gunpowder meets the stone at the heart of the peach. Dazzling racy intensity. Super-long and pure with a mountain of crushed rock character at the smoky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 98 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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| WHITE | 2021 | Zind Humbrecht - Zind' Chardonnay-Auxerrois | 75cl | £115 per case of 6 | Zind Humbrecht Zind' Chardonnay-Auxerrois 2021 / / 75cl £115 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2021 Zind is declared as Vin de France, as it is based on 70% of Chardonnay; the rest is Auxerrois. The Chardonnay is from Clos Windsbuhl in Hunawihr, and the Auxerrois is from Hunawihr. The wines are co-fermented in a large foudre. Lovely flinty reduction flickers enticingly. The palate is mellower than the nose suggests, rounded and smooth, with a subtle note of nutty wood. The medium body is fresh and mouth-watering, beautifully balanced. (Bone-dry). 89 points" Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous.com ------"Wonderful nose of honeycomb, flint and smoke with underlying candied lemon character. The impressive tannin structure is married to a restrained candied citrus richness. Long finish with bright acidity, fine tannin and chalky minerality. A cuvee that’s based auxerrois with chardonnay and some pinot gris. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 93 points" jamesuckling.com (SP) |
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