Pinot Noir "Heimbourg" Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Turkheim 2020/23

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Turkheim (Biodynamic)

The Humbrecht family can trace their winemaking heritage back over 10 generations, although the Domaine Zind Humbrecht story really began in 1959 through the amalgamation of the Zind and Humbrecht family vineyards. Under the stewardship of first Léonard Humbrecht and then his son Olivier, the domain has grown to around 40 hectares, including some of the very best parcels in Alsace’s top Grand Cru and Lieu-Dit sites. Taking a non-interventionist approach in the cellar and paying incredible attention to detail in the biodynamic management of his vineyards, Olivier is leading the field in crafting superb terroir-driven wines.

All the vineyards used to produce this wine are located in the Herrenweg area in Turckheim and were planted in the 80s and early 90s. Young vines on these gravelly, warm and well drained soils can be very vigorous and for the Pinot-Gris grape it often means an evolution towards botrytis or noble rot. Not necessarily a default, but leading to the production of richer/sweeter wines. Now, the vines start to show much more maturity and are entering gradually in their adulthood, showing more reasonable vigour. It means that it is easier to control the botrytis development and also obtain purer and drier style of wines. Despite the heat and precocity of 2015, Pinot-Gris was harvested at reasonable ripeness, allowing us to produce a very elegant dry wine.

Ruby red colour. The nose is very expressive with aromas of small red fruits (blackberry, currant, wild strawberry, etc.). The mouthfeel is supple, all in velvet, almost caressing and evolves with a little more rigor on the finish. The sun of 2020 will have been able to ripen the tannins perfectly, the gentle manual destemming has made it possible to avoid the tannins of the stalk, which is not necessary on this delicate terroir which produces wines with a lot of freshness. This red Heimbourg is not a powerful red but it has a nice intensity and bright flavour. An extremely slow evolution in the glass also suggests a good evolution over time.

Grape: 100% Pinot Noir

Biodynamic