Riesling Clos Windsbuhl 2021 1500ml Magnum

A Riesling of remarkable directness. Bright golden yellow with silvery reflections, on the nose salted lemon, melon and red apple, underscored by lemongrass and ginger. It needs air before it opens up.

The vines stand in the upper, stonier, southeast-facing section of the Clos Windsbuhl monopole. The shell limestone, a Triassic dolomitic limestone, is considered a late-ripening terroir that nonetheless warms quickly. The topsoil layers are shallow, roots grow quickly into the limestone, and drainage is excellent. Windsbuhl is among the estate's last plots to be harvested and retains a vigorous, elegant acidity.

Pure Riesling. In 2021, bud break here started later than for the other varieties, which limited frost damage; the rocky, well-drained soil also softened the effects of a rainy spring. The grapes arrived healthy at the cellar, and fermentation proceeded steadily for a year until the wine was dry. The estate farms 42 hectares biodynamically, keeps yields at 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare, and gives its wines at least six months of lees contact along with one to two years of cellar ageing.

Striking, very dry, taut. Crystalline salinity and knife-sharp acidity hit the tongue and set the saliva flowing immediately, while the texture stays light at 12.5% ABV. The ageing potential is considerable, and with patience the wine gains in complexity.

Citrus risotto with thyme, spiny lobster with mango, pak choi and saffron-ginger sauce, or turbot with white truffle on mashed potatoes.

Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to earn the title Master of Wine, converted the estate's first five hectares in 1996; the Humbrecht family has been growing wine since 1620. Anyone opening the magnum young should decant it at least a day in advance and pour it not too cold into large glasses.