The Wines of Zind Humbrecht at Planet of the Grapes

The Wines of Zind Humbrecht - Thursday 11th February 2010

On arrival - A selection of Dampierre Champagne;
Brut Grand Cuvee @ £30, Cuvee des Ambassadeurs 1er cru @ £36.50,
Cuvee des Ambassadeurs 1er cru Rose @ £41.50

1. "Zind" 2007 @ £19.00
2. Riesling "Heimbourg" 2007 @ £30.00
3. Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" 2003 @ £37.50
4. Riesling "Herrenweg de Turckheim" 1988 (from magnum) N/A
5. Muscat "Herrenweg de Turckheim" 2007 @ £25.00
6. Pinot Gris "Calcaire" 2007 @ £22.00
7. Pinot Gris "Clos St.Urbain, Rangen de Thann" Grand Cru 2001 @ £68.50
8. Gewurztraminer "Clos Windsbuhl" 2007 @ £45.00
9. Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive "Clos Windsbuhl" 2005 @ £37.50 per 375ml.

Another enjoyable wine tasting at Planet of the Grapes - indeed is there any other sort of wine tasting? I have been remiss on not blogging some previous tastings at POTG so let this be the start of a new leaf.

I am a great fan of ZH especially his Gewurtztramimer Herrenweg which I first met back in 1987-88. Later I worked in Basel, Switzerland, just over the border from Alsace and had a couple of very enjoyable visits with usual suspects John & Andrea.

In summary the stars of the evening were the Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" and the Pinot Gris "Calcaire":

No 1 the Zind is made from Auxerrois, not one of the four noble grapes of Alsace (Gewurtztramimer, Reisling, Muscat, Pinot Gris), and so is only entitled to a Vin de Table appellation. Pleasant enough but not worth the money.

The three reislings were an interesting comparison.
No 2 was lovely - full of melon and tropical fruits on the nose and sweet with a restrained hint of petrol on the palette.
No 3 however was what 2 may mature into it - according to my notes "yummy" - and well worth the extra money for more flavour and bottle age.
No 4 had the classic petrol nose but IMHO had faded.

No 5 was enjoyable but annoyed me just because I could not put a name to the smell. Mary had "mushroom" and I had "gooseberry & Midori".

Nos 6 and 7 made an interesting contrast with the Calcaire being the one I preferred of the pair and at one third the price! According to the presenters there was 37gm of residual sugar but you never would have guessed it.

No 8 had a whopping 74gm of residual sugar and, fortunately like the others, had the complexity to prevent it from being syrup.

No 9 was a proper dessert wine with a real caramel / butterscotch finish. Gorgeous.