Zind-Humbrecht Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Grand Cru Riesling 2012
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Savor as an aperitif or with simple dishes that showcase the wine.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a grandiose wine from the most southerly of Alsace’s grands crus. It is rich, certainly, although in balance without any hint of excess. A complex structure powers the intense fruits and generous ripe yellow and citrus flavors. Concentrated from low yields and old vines, this wine needs to age many years. Don’t touch before 2020.
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Wine Spectator
A bright, lip-smacking white, underscored by zesty minerality, this meshes a powerful structure of acidity and minerality with accessible flavors of peach skin, tangerine peel, plum, wet stone and ground ginger. The long finish resonates with hints of crystallized honey, smoke and stone. Drink now through 2029.
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Wine & Spirits
The intense hailstorm that hit the Rangen vineyard in August of 2012 diminished the crop significantly. The remaining fruit produced an intensely concentrated wine that is dry and mineral driven. Lemon confit flavors give way to a wash of bright citrus, developing savory flavors of cheese rind on the finish. A flinty minerality holds it all together, but the wine is tightly wound and will benefit from a few years in the cellar.
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Certified Organic and Biodynamic.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
With its fairytale aesthetic, Germanic influence and strong emphasis on white wines, Alsace is one of France’s most unique viticultural regions. This hotly contested stretch of land running north to south on France’s northeastern border has spent much of its existence as German territory. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains, it is one of the driest regions of France but enjoys a long and cool growing season. Autumn humidity facilitates the development of “noble rot” for the production of late-picked sweet wines, Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles.
The best wines of Alsace can be described as aromatic and honeyed, even when completely dry. The region’s “noble” varieties, the only ones permitted within Alsace’s 51 Grands Crus vineyards, are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris.
Riesling is Alsace’s main specialty. In its youth, Alsace Riesling is dry, fresh and floral, but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics, and is often utilized for late harvest wines. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Muscat, vinified dry, tastes of ripe green grapes and fresh rose petal.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chasselas, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir—the only red grape permitted in Alsace and mainly used for sparkling rosé known as Crémant d’Alsace. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and unlike other French regions, are also labeled with the variety name.