Zind-Humbrecht Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Grand Cru Riesling 2015
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Winemaker Notes
Savor as an aperitif or with simple dishes that showcase the wine.
The Riesling vines are spread all over the 13.6 acres of the Clos-Saint-Urbain in the Rangen Grand Cru vineyard. Being located at the opening of a cold and higher altitude valley, the Rangen enjoys a late ripening climate, but eventually catches up in October, when the steep slope (90%) and dark warm volcanic rocks allow the grapes to reach a high ripeness level. Zind-Humbrecht's dedication to terroir expression guides all winemaking practices, which include extended pressing cycles, abbreviated clarification cycles (to retain natural yeasts and proteins in the must), natural malolactic fermentation and extended aging on the lees. The wine is aged 18 months in 40-year-old French barrels.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Smoke, orange, wet stone and earth notes are powerful and beguiling on the nose. The palate has absolute concentration and energy and more of that smoky promise. This is like the bundled focus of a laser light—incisive, precise and piercing. Notions of peach, lemon and tangerine dance and hover, but the central core and force remains a kind of drive that could move mountains. This is a sleeping giant, absolute and pure, brooding, laying in wait to unleash its might. The palate is absolutely dry, absolutely fresh, absolutely uncompromising. The finish is piercingly clean. Wait for this. Drink 2025–2040 at least.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain opens pure, deep and cool; it is very fresh and stony, as if a giant had crushed lava! On the palate this is a silky textured, yet firmly structured wine that shows fine tannins rather than acidity. The latter plays the first fiddle only in the finish, which is salty, pure and finessed, provided with great tension and an endless flow of wet stones. It is, perhaps, less dramatic than the Brand, but even more balanced and elegant at this early moment. So pure and vital!
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James Suckling
This is a really fresh and dynamic white with sliced pear and lemon rind character and minerals. Full and flavorful with lots of crisp acidity and fruit intensity. Great density. From biodynamic grapes. Drink now.
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Wine Spectator
A dense and creamy Riesling, medium- to full-bodied and tightly meshed. Rich and smoky, with an exotic overtone of Indian spices and jasmine accenting the ripe green melon, grapefruit sorbet and nectarine flavors. Well-defined and lingering on the dry, zesty finish.
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Wine & Spirits
The village of Thann, in the southern reaches of Alsace, includes this historic vineyard planted on compacted, reddish-brown volcanic ash. Olivier Humbrecht farms this steep site under biodynamics, and it grows some of his most distinctive wines. This is one of the most dynamic 2015 rieslings we tasted, a brisk, formidable wine with staying power. It starts on zesty scents of fresh chamomile and lasts on notes of sage and brisk yellow fruit. This is a classically structured riesling with a long life ahead.
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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.