Crémant d'Alsace Clos Windsbuhl 2023

Brut Nature means: bottled without dosage. What remains is pure Chardonnay with a fine mousse, taut in structure and bone-dry, which at 12.0% vol. comes across as lean rather than powerful.

The grapes come from the Clos Windsbuhl, a monopole vineyard of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace. Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the title of Master of Wine, farms 42 hectares; in 1996 he converted the first five hectares to biodynamic farming, followed by Demeter certification in 2002. Yields sit between 30 and 40 hectolitres per hectare, and on the steepest plots horses are used for the work. The family has been making wine since 1620, and since 2019 Pierre Émile Humbrecht has been working alongside as the eleventh generation.

A single-varietal Chardonnay, made as a Blanc de Blancs. At the Humbrecht estate, at least six months of lees contact is standard, and no wine leaves the cellar before one to two years of ageing. This gives the Crémant its texture, while the absence of dosage strips away any cushioning sweetness.

Lemon zest, green apple and white blossom, with brioche and a chalky trace beneath. The acidity carries the wine, the texture stays creamy, and the finish is saline and lingers long.

With oysters and seafood, with Alsatian flammekueche and with goat cheese. Comté and salted almonds also pair well with this dryness.

A Blanc de Blancs from a monopole vineyard, without dosage: a style that conceals nothing. Bottled at the estate on the Route de Colmar in Turckheim.