Zind Humbrecht Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain Riesling 2010
Jeg hadde aldri trodd jeg skulle smake en så god «ikke tysk» Riesling som denne. Men så ligger ikke Zind-Humbrechts gård i Alsace så langt fra elven Rhinen og Tyskland heller.
Den ble først smakt under en “Asiatisk mat og viner fra Alsace” tilstelning med en super sjøkreps og mangosalat til, men nå sist lørdag laget jeg en Lars Barmen rett, Blomkålsuppe med sjøkreps, som ga en ultimat mat/vin-opplevelse.
Vingården Clos Saint Urbain ligger rundt Chapel Saint-Urbain i midten av Rangen Grand Cru vingård i landsbyen Thann, helt i sydspissen av Alsace. Fjellsiden her har bratte sørvendte skråninger og jorden har en blanding av vulkanske bergarter og aske med fin sandstein. Gården ble grunnlagt i 1959 og drives nå av Olivier Humbrecht som også innehar en Master of Wine. Vinstokkene her er 48 år gamle og dyrkes biodynamisk siden 2002, vinmarken er på 40 hektar og det produseres ca 160,000 flasker i året.
foto © Marianne Johnsen
2010 er en av de beste årgangene på lenge. Thann er fra før kjent for et meget rikt og godt jordsmonn med gode vekstforhold for druene, men konsentrasjonen i druene dette året ble spesielt gode. Temperaturen endret seg sakte fra -26° C før jul til en svært varm juli, sammen med en sen innhøstning (november) samt en svært rask gjæring, ga optimale forhold.
Denne Rieslingen har en super frisk duft av blomster og mineraler. Enestående frisk og med lett sødmekarakter, smak av blomster og eple, full av mineralitet og nydelig balansert. Fin fløyelsaktig tekstur med en lett restsødme i avslutningen. Jeg gleder meg til å følge denne etterhvert som den får utviklet seg etter noen år i kjelleren. Den kan drikkes godt nå men kan også med fordel lagres helt frem til 2035. Serveringstemperatur 11 grader.
Passer til blomkålsuppe med sjøkreps, sjøkreps med mangosalat, asiatiske retter eller kontemplasjon.
Drue: 100% Riesling
Vær rask, det er kun 8 flasker igjen av denne årgangen på Røa. 2011 årgangen av denne vinen kommer ikke på Vinmonopolet før til høsten 2013.
Vinmonopolet 492.- kr (v#174301)
andre Zind Humbrecht viner på vinmonopolet:
Zind-Humbrecht Clos Saint Urbain Rangen de Thann Pinot Gris 2005
Zind-Humbrecht Clos Windsbuhl 2010
Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Blanc 2011
Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Gueberschwihr 2010
Som deltagende part til Blomkålsuppe m/sjøkreps og Zind Humbrecht Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain Riesling 2010 som vinfølge, kan jeg ikke annet enn å si at dette var en komplett match.
Ja, det var helt strålende. Det ble i det hele tatt mye god mat og drikke den kvelden 🙂
Michael, this is a great introduction to NY rsilieng Wiemer is one of the premier producers of rsilieng to be sure. And you just hit upon one of the challenges I deal with sometimes with wine blogging I don’t want to ALWAYS take notes. Sometimes I just want to drink and enjoy!You won’t find many Finger Lakes rsiliengs down here on LI, but some other producers to check out: Ravines Wine Cellars, Lamoreaux Landing, Sheldrake Point, Anthony Road, Atwater, Billsboro there is a ton of great rsilieng up there.Locally check out Peconic Bay and Paumanok. And Grapes of Roth, Roman Roth’s private label.
Hey Thomas!I agree with you that since Olivier Humbrecht has been making the wines and eleacipsly since they have been made biodinamically since 1997 the wines have become more «finesse driven». That is not to say the wines from before that time are not because when I visited them last May I had a Brand 1994 (dry) with Humbrecht Sr. which was absolutely gorgeous with a finesse I had rarely seen in a Riesling. Ps. all the 2001’s I have tasted recently seem not to be at their pinnacle yet.. Don’t hurry yourself 😉
Is it useful? Which leads to the queoitsn, to whom?The easy answer is the consumer but there is no standard consumer just as there is no standard critic.For the last several years I have pretty much divorced myself from reading the work of professional wine critics. No Advocate, Spectator, Burghound, etc. I have still seen articles on different areas written my many authors but almost nothing written about specific wines (with the exception of internet bulletin boards but then few professionals reside there).Such abstinence was intentional; I wanted to try, as best I could, to judge any wine I tasted without the preconceptions that naturally occur when one reads opinions about specific wines in advance.It was an interesting exercise; maybe I gained a bit more confidence in my own opinions and perhaps I missed some nice wines that got written up.I have decided that I will no longer make any effort to keep from reading the pros. Likewise, I will make no effort to raed them. I will simply take what comes and continue to taste wines (and now make them) with my own rather individual criteria foremost.Another step, and shall be where I started.Best, Jim
I enjoyed your aclrite on biodynamic vineyards. I own a wine store that only sells eco-friendly wines, including organic and biodynamic. I would like to comment on two of your ending questions. Questions: I don’t hear people (“wine people” I say) asking if the wheat for the bread they are eating was grown organically… But, so many times, I have heard the question about the grapes used in the wine they are drinking. Why does it have to be so different with wine?I think a lot of people (Wine People too) ask or actively seek out Organic food products or go to restaurants that feature both local and organically grown products. I don’t ask my local baker if his wheat is Organic, because I know his mission statement states that they only use Organic products. I shop there for that reason. It is becoming a more commonly asked question in the wine industry because more and more consumers are beginning to discover that some wines are manufactured or Altered. Is there a way to confirm that biodynamic practices are better than (“simply”) being organic?I have always been told that one reason Biodynamic farming is so controversial is the lack of scientific proof that it’s better than Organic farming. After all, you’re only adding cow poop, flowers and herbs to the soil and they end up becoming that…soil, therefore making “confirmation” difficult. Most Biodynamic Producers will tell you they have been able correct all their pest and soil problems and can bring their site back into balance. I have never had an Organic Producer say they can correct imbalance issues. Organic farming tends to sustain soil properties while Biodynamic farming can correct them.The last thing I’d like to address has to do with the idea that farming completely Organic or without the use of artificial fertilizers or pesticides could lead to mass starvation. I understand what you’re trying to address, an idea that nothing is 100% perfect. But, consider what happened before the US government started paying farmers (not organic ones) to farm less. After WWI, there was a large growth in farming due to the use of industrialized fertilizers and pesticides. Suddenly farmers could grow more products without loosing as much crop to bugs and disease. After a few years we had too much produce in the market place and the demand dropped. This meant farmers couldn’t sell there product at a higher price. A lot of farmers lost their land. This was one of the catalysts that started the Great Depression. So, if we went back to the old natural way, why wouldn’t we have enough to feed everyone? We could, especially if we paid people to grow cleaner products. This argument could go both ways, we won’t know until we start supporting Organic Farmers more.