Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru 2023 - Zind-Humbrecht

Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru 2023 - Zind-Humbrecht

 Caution: The bottles of Alsace wine do not fit into the wooden boxes sold separately.

98/100 James Suckling

"It's difficult to grasp the supernatural vitality and mineral freshness of this incredibly concentrated dry Gewürztraminer. The saline minerality and lemony freshness of Amalfi are exceptionally intense and vibrant. The purity of the finish is far removed from what one usually associates with this grape variety. Made from biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now or cellar."

Stuart Pigott

Bottling took place in August 2024. The wine shows 14.0% acquired alcohol, 3.4 g/L of residual sugar, total acidity of 2.7 g/L H₂SO₄ (4.2 g/L tartaric), and a pH of 3.6. Yield reaches 43 hl/ha. The optimal drinking window extends from 2027 to 2047 and beyond. The vines, averaging 72 years of age, are planted with Gewurztraminer on the Grand Cru Hengst. 

The sweetness index is 1.

The soils consist of Oligocene calcareous marl.
Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru 2023 perfectly reflects how climate change manifests in Alsace: although harvest dates are earlier and ripening temperatures higher, the variety does not necessarily produce sweeter or more alcoholic wines with lower acidity. In reality, the opposite trend is observed. Hengst is a sun-bathed terroir where ripening occurs early, and phenolic maturity develops sooner thanks to better September sunshine compared to October or November. With no botrytis present and notably vigorous fermentations — as in 2023 — the wines tend to finish drier. The iron-rich limestone of Hengst contributes to complex tannins, essential for a grape variety that should be compared more to a red wine (tannins, low acidity, high maturity) than to a white. The 2023 vintage fermented to dryness without excessive power, resulting in a great dry Gewurztraminer — still rare in the region — offering surprising character and remarkable gastronomic potential.

New in 2023*: The domain has chosen to change the packaging. The capsules are no longer present on the bottles. The domain wishes to be more respectful of the environment and has therefore stopped the production of metal seals. This does not change the potential of the wine and the tasting.

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Terroir: The imposing south-east facing hillside of Grand Cru Hengst is located south of the village of Wintzenheim. This red Oligocene limestone is one of the best terroirs for Gewurztraminer. The vineyard benefits from very hot and dry growing conditions, and the soil provides structure, high phenolic concentration and reduces the powerful varietal expression in favour of a more complex spicy expression. The wine comes from two small vineyards, planted in 1953 and in the 1920s. These are probably the best and most beautiful Gewurztraminer selections on the estate. They predate the modern higher yielding clones and are capable of producing a complex and coherent wine where varietal characteristics do not dominate the wine. Obviously, the Hengst is harvested at a high level of ripeness and should always be expected to finish its fermentations with a certain amount of sweetness.

Indice: Level of sweetness on the palate. Scale from 1 to 5.

1: analytically dry or tasting dry. 2: not analytically dry, but the sugars are not obviously apparent on the palate. Some tasters may find a slight roundness in the finish. These wines will taste dry with some bottle ageing. 3: Medium sweetness, higher in the youth of the wine, which will gradually fade with age. 4 : sweet wine. 5 : Sweet wine, very close to a Vendange Tardive.