Pinot Gris Rotenberg 2020 - Zind-Humbrecht

Bottles of Pinot Gris Rotenberg 2020 - Zind-Humbrecht

 Domaine Zind Humbrecht - Wine from the estate

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

Sweetness index 1: technically dry or dry tasting wine

95/100 James Suckling

A staggeringly youthful and expressive dry Pinot Gris that packs plenty of power, yet its mango and floral-honey aromas remain subtle. Rich yet focused, with a bone-dry palate. Breathtakingly refreshing on the salty finish—it makes you feel as though you’ve lifted off the earth’s surface, even if only by a millimeter. Made from biodynamically grown grapes.

Technical Details

Grape variety: 100% Pinot Gris

Terroir: *Lieu-dit* Rotenberg (Wintzenheim) — Oligocene red limestone soil, very rich in iron; shallow soils

Exposure & slope: West/north-west, steep slope (western flank of the Grand Cru Hengst hill)

Average vine age: 39 years

Bottling: January 2022

Alcohol content: 13.5%

Residual sugar: 0.8 g/l (Sweetness index: 1 – Dry wine)

Total acidity: 4.3 g/l H₂SO₄ (equivalent to 6.6 g/l tartaric acid) | pH: 3.1

Yield: 21 hl/ha (among the estate's lowest)

Peak drinking window: 2024–2035

About the wine & terroir

Located on the western slope of the Grand Cru Hengst hill in Wintzenheim, the Rotenberg shares the same marl-limestone-sandstone bedrock but is distinguished by much shallower soils and a high iron concentration, which gives the earth its characteristic brick-red hue. Perched at altitude and facing the Vosges mountains, this terroir benefits from late ripening. While capable of producing exceptional sweet wines, these plots also excel in the creation of magnificent dry wines characterized by vibrant acidity and powerful aromatics—far removed from the neutrality often associated with this grape variety. Thanks to particularly low yields—the lowest on the estate—the terroir’s signature shines through with rare intensity. This pronounced acidity results in a very slow fermentation, requiring extended aging on the lees to fully enhance a profile defined by its striking dryness.

Tasting Notes (January 2022)

Appearance: Straw yellow.

Nose: Highly expressive, combining a range of generous fruit flavors (peach, apricot, quince, and yellow fruits) with fresh citrus notes—an unmistakable hallmark of great limestone terroirs.

Palate: Precise and focused, offering a sculpted mouthfeel driven by a taut, structural acidity. As it opens up, the wine delivers immense drinking pleasure: the fruitiness intensifies while maintaining great precision. Bone-dry, it impresses with its tension, clarity, and vibrant energy—qualities rarely found in Pinot Gris. A wine of great character and refinement!

95/100 James Suckling & 93/100 Wine Spectator

Cellaring : Drink from 2023 to 2033

Tasted on Nov 6, 2020 by James Suckling : "With big yellow fruit, from ripe peach to super ripe mango, this dry Pinot Gris manages to stay just on the right side of opulence, thanks to its vibrant acidity, giving it an almost Riesling-like elegance, linearity and minerality on the driving finish, which is truly remarkable for this grape. Made from biodynamically grown grapes. To drink or to keep."

Acquired alcohol: 13.5°.

Average age of the vines: over 35 years

Soil: Oligocene red limestone with west/northwest exposure. Steep slope

Terroir: From the same vantage point that allows you to observe the Heimbourg hill from the Grand Cru Brand, just turn south and look across the valley. The Rotenberg faces the Vosges mountains and is recognised by its brick-red soil, rich in iron. It is therefore quite natural that this late-ripening terroir expresses a strong affinity for the Pinot family. The slope is steep (30/40%), eroded on the surface by the passage of the glaciers in the quaternary period. The soil is thin, very stony and the parent rock is found at a shallow depth. This terroir naturally produces very low yields in a medium-late context, allowing for wines ranging from very dry to very sweet, depending on the date of harvest. The slow evolution of maturity allows a good choice of harvest date for a dry wine.

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

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