Riesling Heimbourg 2021

A dry Riesling with cool, saline minerality and pronounced inner tension. It needs air: at first flint and limestone lead, then with oxygen grapefruit, orange, ginger and angelica emerge, followed after extended aeration by forest floor and truffle.

The Heimbourg cru sits on a small, steep hill east of Turckheim that stands apart from the Vosges; the slopes face southwest to west. The soil is an Oligocene marl-limestone sandstone: iron-rich limestone with a high silica content, over 45% active limestone and little clay. This drains superbly and allows the Riesling to ripen slowly without losing acidity.

Pure Riesling. With a late harvest, this site can reach very high ripeness, so the harvest date determines whether the wine turns out dry. In 2021, one of the year's longest fermentations continued until the wine had fully fermented out: 13.0% ABV, dry. Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the title Master of Wine, farms 42 hectares biodynamically, with yields of 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare.

Crystal-clear and powerful. Fine citrus notes hover over an equally fine, multi-layered acidity; saline notes join in on the finish, leaving an umami impression.

Scallop carpaccio with coral and grapefruit, salt-crusted turbot with Venere risotto, or, for a vegetarian option, heirloom carrots with chopped walnuts and a honey-wild raspberry marinade.

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