Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl 2021 750ml

The Clos Windsbuhl is located on the top of the village of Hunawihr on a soil type that can be found along the vineyards, especially in this area of Alsace: Muschelkalk. Here on the Windsbuhl, the top soil layers are particularly thin and the vines can reach the mother rock very quickly. Located in a late ripening climate, the warmth of the soil and south to south east exposition compensate both altitude and cooler influence from the proximity of the Vosges forest. It actually creates a unique climate explaining the style of the wines from this old historical Clos: aromatic, delicate and expressive, but also strict, racy acidity and austere. Never really powerful, their force comes more from their character than sheer power. The Pinot-Gris is the first grape variety mentioned in the history of the Clos (Tokayer), it is also today the most planted. The vines planted in the early 90s are still today declassified into a second wine (roche Calcaire), and this wine comes from vineyards planted in the 50s/60s/early 70s. Of all the vineyard the domaine cultivates in Pinot-Gris, this is probably the trickiest to harvest at the perfect sugar ripeness. The grapes seem to hide their potential and more than often we regretted not to harvest them slightly earlier. In 2018 that wasnt the case, and the harvest conditions (very dry weather) also probably helped to keep good wild yeasts on the grapes so the wine was able to fully ferment.