Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl 2021

A dry Pinot Gris from Alsace built on salinity, tension and precision. 13.0% Vol. lend it a bright, cool stature, with minerality shaping the wine from the very first sip.

Clos Windsbuhl is a monopole vineyard of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht. Its altitude and proximity to the Vosges mountains ensure late ripening, which is why Pinot Gris is favoured here. In the past, this vineyard often produced very sweet wines in the style of a Spätlese. Today the harvest tends to fall in early to mid-September rather than mid-October, botrytis appears less often, and the dry style of the 2021 is the result.

Pinot Gris is the most widely planted variety in Clos Windsbuhl. Olivier Humbrecht farms the vines biodynamically, and horses once again work the steep slopes. Patience rules in the cellar: yields of 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare, at least six months of lees contact and one to two years of ageing before a wine leaves the estate.

On the nose, quince, white peach, ripe pear and apple skin, alongside white bread crust and freshly churned salted butter, topped with a hint of sea breeze. On the palate, a saline note and playful acidity, pale yellow fruit and fine malty tones lending spice and structure.

It hits its stride with intensely flavoured cuisine: confit egg yolk in miso oil with cauliflower and leek butter, udon noodles with shrimp, shiitake dashi and bonito flakes or sole with sea urchin and chicken skin crust and potato foam.

Olivier Humbrecht was the first Frenchman to hold the title Master of Wine, the Humbrecht family has been making wine since 1620, and since 2019 Pierre Émile Humbrecht has joined the estate as its eleventh generation. Decanting beforehand is worthwhile; serve not too cold in large Burgundy glasses.