Riesling Clos Windsbuhl 2022

Coolness and finesse rather than power: a dry Riesling at 12.5% Vol. that draws its tension from salt and acidity and will gain over years of ageing.

Clos Windsbuhl is a monopole of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht. In its upper part the soils are flatter, and the limestone bedrock lies so close to the surface that stakes can barely be driven into the vineyard. The site's cooler, late-ripening climate gives the Riesling elegance and race; in 2022 it was the last Riesling the estate harvested.

Pure Riesling. The vines in the upper Clos, planted with Pinot Gris in 1990, were grafted over to Riesling in 2021 and bore their first crop in 2022 — not yet at full production, but already showing the characteristics of a 32-year-old vineyard. The wine fermented very slowly and without interruption, only turning dry in the summer of 2023. Bottled from the large oak foudre and on the fine lees. Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the title of Master of Wine, farms the estate's 42 hectares biodynamically, with yields of 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare.

Bright golden yellow, with apple, peach, honeydew melon and salted lemon on the nose over chalky notes, followed on aeration by air-dried ginger and anise. Striking and very dry, with crystalline salinity and knife-sharp acidity that gets the saliva flowing.

Porcini carpaccio with olive oil, lime juice, sea salt and thyme, scallops and langoustine on a light curry-mango sauce, or pulled pork with orange-hoisin marinade.

Anyone opening this wine now should decant it at least a day in advance and serve it not too cold, from large Burgundy glasses. The Humbrecht family has been making wine since 1620; since 2019, Pierre Émile Humbrecht has been working alongside them as the eleventh generation.