Pinot Gris Rotenberg 2022

The Pinot Gris Rotenberg 2022 is a dry white wine from Alsace that draws its impact from acidity, salinity and herbal spice. Racy and invigorating, with 13.5% ABV and a long finish, it is still only at the beginning of its development.

The Rotenberg is a steep slope of red limestone, oriented from north to west. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht farms just under two hectares in the western section, with views of the Vosges mountains and the medieval Hohlandsbourg castle. The sun reaches the slope late and leaves it early, so in every vintage the grapes retain good acidity and structure.

Pinot Gris. In earlier, late-ripening vintages, the Rotenberg used to produce late-harvest wines; today the harvest takes place considerably earlier, and the grapes bring a balance that allows for dry wines. At the estate, yields stand at 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare, the wines spend at least six months on the lees, and leave the cellar only after one to two years.

On the nose, citrus fruit, lemon balm and bergamot, along with a multitude of herbs that give way to juicy quince and apple. On the palate, fruity and saline components intertwine, the acidity provides tension, and the finish remains pronounced and long.

Fresh goat's cheese on beetroot carpaccio with wild herbs and radishes, mussels in curry-ginger broth with crusty baguette, or quail crépinette with rosehip, poppy seed cake, lemon and tarragon.

Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the Master of Wine title, converted the estate to biodynamic farming starting in 1996; on the steepest parcels, horses once again work the vineyard. Anyone opening the bottle now should decant it for several hours and serve it in a sufficiently large glass. Left open for a few days, the wine gains in expressiveness.