Alsace Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Vendanges Tardives Zind-Humbrecht (Domaine) 2007

Zind Humbrecht was created in 1959 as a result of the merger of the wine producing operations of the Humbrecht family in Gueberschwihr and the Zind family in Wintzenheim. The Humbrechts are a very old wine-making family, who have been passing their skills from one generation to the next since the Thirty Years War (1620). The property has 42 hectares across 6 grand crus and other vineyards and is managed according to biodynamic principles. Zind Humbrecht has long been established as one of Alsace's most reputable producers. Léonard Humbrecht has placed quality over quantity, developing superb terroirs that have been neglected because they are too difficult to work, such as Rangen in Thann. Today, Olivier Humbrecht - the first French Master of Wine - and his father are only interested in exceptional terroirs; their insistence on quality, combined with virtuoso technical ability, enable them to produce exceptionally dense, complex wines that are always respectful of the characteristics of the grape varieties and the terroir. Their wines can be classed among the best white wines in the world.

This small 1.3 hectare vineyard lying at the foot of the Brand Grand Cru provides the perfect conditions for the growth of the beneficial noble rot. Jebsal is the only terroir in the domaine where the Humbrecht family sorts the fruit to produce both a Sélection de Grains Nobles cuvée as well as this Vendanges Tardives. Wearing a pale golden colour in its youth with a delicate nose, in time it develops in complexity and aromatic nuance with notes of white-fleshed fruits and a striking minerality translated from the wet clay soil. From the initial attack to the finish this cuvée is well-rounded, with a relatively mild botrytized flavour whose tannins make it well-suited to cellaring.