Zind-Humbrecht Alsace 2004

By Raymond Chan

Our annual tasting of Zind-Humbrecht wines is always one of the most anticipated. Our fascination with the wines of Alsace, particularly with the top domaines of Zind-Humbrecht and Weinbach over the last decade and a half has taken on a fabulous journey of discovery of the finest aromatic wines of the world. And to have the world's most rigorous critics and serious commentators back the wines from these two domaines has supported our enthusiasm for the wines.

New Zealand was graced with a visit by Olivier Humbrecht just three weeks ago, as a guest speaker at the Aromatics Symposium conducted in Nelson, just after the Pinot Noir 2007 conference. From accounts from attendees, Olivier Humbrecht was truly inspirational as he espoused his beliefs in the the expression of terroir, the site, and biodynamic grape growing.

However, there has been a growing discord regarding the wines that have come from the Zind-Humbrecht domaine over the last few years. Tasters have come to understand the philosophy behind the drive to have wines that fully express the terroir of each site from where each of his wines originate. Unfortunately, many of the recent vintage wines have been interpreted as showing gross imbalance as well as technical issues with accepted winemaking practice. It is possible that these conclusions may be made from the perspective of ‘New World' tasters with a preference for clean (and possibly characterless) wines that have not managed to capture the essence of site and terroir. But many tasters who express concerns with the Zind-Humbrecht wines of late are truly seasoned wine enthusiast with a very wide experience of fine wine.

Here are my thoughts on this growing concern of Zind-Humbrecht from last year's 9th February report of the 2003 Zind-Humbrecht wines (posted on www.regionalwines.co.nz): With regular tastings of the wines from Zind-Humbrecht over the last decade plus, it is disconcerting to see people polarized by the wines as the style has developed under the guidance of Olivier Humbrecht MW. We have seen the wines from the domaine around a decade ago change from being wonderful expressions of variety to become richer, very often sweeter, late-harvest styles to now what are full-blown expressions of terroir. The comparison with the wines of Domaine Weinbach, the other top-flight domaine that we have experienced, has made the path taken by Zind-Humbrecht even more obvious, the wines from the Faller family becoming more pure in the flavour of the grape while the land has a subtle, but positive influence. We are aware that Zind-Humbrecht puts the voice of terroir as being very important and that the natural outcome and balance of the finished wine is a sum of the vintage, site and variety coming into an equilibrium. However, many feel that the recent wines are exaggerated and definitely not traditional, and allow winemaking inadequacies appear.

So with this as a background, this tasting of the 2004 Zind-Humbrecht wines took on even more importance. From Olivier's background notes, we understand that 2004 was a vintage of dry wines, with little or no botrytis influence, the grapes picked before threatening weather. The quality of the fruit was very good and healthy, with ripeness and fabulous acidity. The comparison has been made with 2002, a textbook year for Zind-Humbrecht. Following are my notes on the wines tasted. They were presented blind, in varietal flights. As added interest, a New Zealand Gewurztraminer, the 2004 Vinoptima, a highly rated wine, was included in the Gewurztraminer flight for interest and comparison.

Flight One: Riesling

A flight of powerful, full-bodied Rieslings that show their alcoholic strength. Modest varietal character, but with good acidity. The CSU Rangen terroir definitely apparent. Accepted by the group generally, the wines fitted in the wide Alsace criteria, and showed individuality.

 13.3% alc, 9 g/L rs, Indice 1. From a favoured site south of Turckheim. Straw yellow colour with some depth. Soft and full on nose with gentle, easy aromatics of some depth. Dryish, the alcohol is noticeable, giving some heat. Florals and minerals, with good acidity, zingy and fresh, quite racy. Lean, crisp and dry on finish. The least preferred of the flight by the group of tasters. My score 17.0+/20

14.0% alc, 8.4 g/L rs, Indice 1. Fruit from young vines from the Brand grand cru and from a new vineyard just below Clos Jebsal, in Turckheim. Very even straw yellow colour, pale edged. Light, but tight, minerally nose, flinty with some soft florals, showing delicacy. Dry, with lightness and less concentration. Fresh and crisp, delicate florals and minerality, fine and elegant, quite fine really. Attractively proportioned dry-style. Accessible now. The second preferred wine of the flight by the group. My score 18.0/20

14.2% alc, 6.2 g/L rs, Indice 1, Average age of vines 42 y.o. Straw yellow with golden hues. Very full, deep and solid nose, real weight. Petrol and earth aromas with toastiness and spices. Rich and very complex, botrytis-like notes also present. Dry on palate, full, rich and spicy. Deep, rich and weighty, soft, but with great density and presence. Very textural and the richness is not over the top. Overall, balanced for the size and dimension. However, the third preferred of the flight by the group. My score 19.0-/20

13.35% alc, 19.4 g/L rs, Indice 2. From the steepest part of the 6.0 ha Heimbourg site near the Brand grand cru at Turchkeim. Bright, even straw yellow with golden hues. Soft, floral, honied nose with gentle accessible peachy fruit, with botrytis-like honied overtones and toasty notes. Off dry, this is honied and toasty, soft and mellow and with petrolly development. Though soft, there is good acidity and zestiness on the long finish. Easily the most preferred of the flight by the group of tasters. My score 18.0+/20

Flight Two: Pinot Gris

A challenging flight that required working through the high alcohols and considerable extraction. The wines with some residual sugar the most preferred. Oxidation and sulphide issues were present on two of the wines. These are certainly not site or terroir characters!

15.9% alc, 7.8 g/L rs, Indice 1, Average age of vines 35 y.o. Very dark, deep golden yellow. Very full, deep, fat nose, weighty and dense, minerals with oxidation. Dry, full-bodied, toasty, earthy, mineral flavours along with oxidation. Very high alcoh