Riesling Clos Häuserer 2020

The Riesling Clos Häuserer 2020 from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht is a dry Alsatian Riesling from a single vineyard in Wintzenheim. It combines ripe fruit with chalky coolness and, at 13.0% Vol., shows drive and ageing potential.

The Clos Häuserer lies just below the boundary of the Grand Cru Hengst, where the slope flattens out towards the east. The soil is a hillside colluvium: over the parent rock of Oligocene marl-limestone-sandstone lies a good metre of marl and clay, washed down from the hill above. This deep, iron-rich terroir ripens slowly in a warm, early mesoclimate that the surrounding hill shields from the wind, allowing the acidity to be very well preserved.

Léonard Humbrecht planted the 1.2-hectare clos in 1973. The 2020 vintage produced healthy, ripe grapes whose fermentation only came to an end after a year. At the house of Zind-Humbrecht, the wines rest on the lees for at least six months and do not leave the cellar before one to two years of ageing.

The nose brings together ripe apples, vineyard peach, candied ginger, lime blossom and a cool limestone note. The palate remains juicy, with gripping salinity and brilliant acidity over chalky intensity.

Pumpkin and potato tarte Tatin with apple vinegar, honey and rosemary, grilled vineyard peach with prawns on rocket or foie gras Tom Kha Gai with crispy chicken skin.

Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the title Master of Wine, converted the first five hectares to biodynamic farming in 1996; yields stand at 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare. Drunk young, the wine needs several hours in the decanter and a sufficiently large glass, and it gains in expression over several days after opening.