Pinot Gris Heimbourg 2018

The Pinot Gris Heimbourg 2018 from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht is a dry white wine from a small single vineyard near Turckheim in Alsace. It presents itself cool and elegant, with chalky minerality overlaying everything, beneath which lie orange, orange zest, ginger, mango and apricot.

Heimbourg is one of the small vineyard sites in the secondary and tertiary fault zone of Turckheim, where the geology changes over short distances and the parcels are correspondingly small. The site stretches from southwest to west over limestone soil with a low iron content. The upper part, most exposed to the wind, is planted with Pinot and produces aromatically expressive wines that already show well in their youth.

Pinot Gris. Depending on how the noble rot develops, the site can produce either a dry or a sweet style; the estate harvests at ripeness, but without an overripe character and without botrytis, so that the must ferments as dry as possible without commercial yeast. In 2018, ripening progressed at a normal pace, fermentation completed well, and after 18 months on the lees the wine was bottled dry. 13.0% ABV.

Juicy, with fresh acidity and a fine tannic structure. The pronounced fruit sits over a chalky foundation; even now the wine can carry intense dishes, though it shows its full beauty after further cellaring.

Spaghetti squash fritters with poached egg, shellfish soup with herb dumplings and lamb tajine with carrots, preserved lemon, turnips and black cumin. Be sure to decant when young and serve in large Burgundy glasses.

Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the title of Master of Wine, farms 42 hectares biodynamically; in 1996 he converted the first five hectares. Yields range from 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare, and no wine leaves the cellar before one to two years of ageing.