Zind-Humbrecht Gewurz and Pinot Gris Blindtasted: '94 to '99
Tom's House, Palo Alto, CA
Tasted Thursday, June 17, 2010 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,383 views
Introduction
Introductory comments by tasting organizer Ross Bott:
Zind-Humbrecht makes wines from four varietals: Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Muscat. In the winemaking hands of Zind-Humbrecht, all can be spectacular, but I have always favored the Gewürztraminer and the Pinot Gris. While this winery is most famous for its Gewurztraminers, in Alsace, Pinot Gris is king, where it is considered to be the Montrachet of the region. These two varietals have a family resemblance, combining an amazing range of fruit and floral smells with an unusual spiciness. With the spectrum of complexities, one has the sense in drinking one of these wines of walking through a large house with many rooms, with new surprises behind every door. Because of the depth and density of the Zind-Humbrechts, most of their wines are capable of aging 5-10 years at least, and 20+ years in great vintages. The wines change dramatically as they age, exchanging exchanging forward, rich fruit when young for layers of spicy complexity when old. Tonight, we'll try four Gewürztraminer and four Pinot Gris, each spanning 1994 through 1999. It should give us a chance to compare these two unusual varietals and see how they develop with age. I've included one Gewürztraminer from another highly respected estate, Domain Weinbach, for comparison. And for dessert, we'll have two luscious younger examples.
Summary by RJ
Zind-Humbrecht is one of Alsace's largest domaines, at over 40 hectares, including a high proportion of grand cru vineyards. The Humbrechts have been wine growers since 1620, with the business passing from father to son for generations. Zind-Humbrecht represents the amalgamation of two family estates, which happened with the marriage of Léonard Humbrecht to Geneviève Zind in 1959. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Olivier Humbrecht, Léonard and Geneviève's son and the current winemaker, in May 2005 at a tasting in San Francisco. He was as approachable and lovely in person as the best of his wines. The domaine's vines are densely planted and strictly pruned, with all efforts in the vineyard devoted to limiting yield and increasing concentration. Biodynamic principles have been practiced since 1997. Fermentations are very slow, and the wines spend a minimum of six months on the lees. I enjoy their lushness of fruit when they are first released, and the additional complexity and depth they put on with several years in bottle.
It was fun to taste this set of mature Zind-Humbrechts, and also to see how relatively difficult it is to sort out the Gewurzes from the Pinot Gris after 10 or more years of age. In my 75 tasting notes on Zind-Humbrecht so far, the Pinot Gris has usually been the slightly higher rated variety for me (average of 93.5 points in 32 notes, and a range from 88 to 97 pts.), much as I love Gewürztraminer (average of 92.9 points in 23 notes, ranging from 89 to 96 pts.). At this tasting, the Gewurzes came out on top for the group, and I generally tracked the group this time (with the exception of the group's #1, the '99 Clos Windsbuhl, which was my #5). I was surprised that my number 1 (number 2 for the group, but statistically tied with 1) was actually the Domaine Weinbach, the '94 Gewürztraminer Cuvee Laurence. But '94 has regularly been a favorite vintage for me for Z-H and Weinbach, so I shouldn't be surprised it was my top pick in this blindtasting. And I was only right on about 2/3s of my guesses as to Pinot Gris vs. Gewürztraminer. I generally found less distinctive Gewurz noses on these wines after 10 or more years in the bottle, and less spiciness on the palate than in more typical Gewurzes. For more details on the showing of our wines and the vineyards represented, see below.
Flight 1 - My TNs and group scoring (8 Notes)
Two of our wines in this flight were already past their prime. The '96 Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive (group's #6, my #8) was oxidized and lacking acidity. The '97 Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain (group's last, my 7th) was just tired, which may be the nature of that vintage at this point, which was lacking in botrytis, and in which all the sugar was fermented out. I was really impressed with the purity and lushness of my #1, the '94 Weinbach Cuvee Laurence, which was declassified Selection de Grains Nobles that year. My favorite of the Z-H's was the '97 Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes, which had a delicacy, and something I can only describe as a floaty quality, that I don't typically find in Zind-Humbrecht's very concentrated style. The other Vieilles Vignes, the '99 Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim, was also very appealing, with a distinctive Gewurz nose and palate.
The Grand Crus in this flight were the Goldert and the Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain. Rotenberg is a lieux-dit, single vineyard. Clos Windsbuhl is a walled vineyard and monopole of Zind-Humbrecht that is often cited as the source of their greatest wines. 
Flight 2 - Sweet finish (2 Notes)
I appreciated Ross's bringing two Z-H Vendange Tardives, both '02s, for us to finish with. These were once again passed blind, and I have to admit I thought the Pinot Gris was a Gewurz, due to its rose petal nose and spicy palate, and vice versa. Heimbourg and Rotenberg, the sources for these two wines, are single vineyards without Grand Cru status. Even though these were in half bottle format, which can accelerate aging, these were still quite youthful and have a number of years ahead of them. 
1999 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl 92 Points
France, Alsace
Group's #1 (my #5) – 56 pts; 4 firsts, 5 seconds, 2 thirds, 0 last places – medium gold color with clear meniscus; ripe peach, apricot, mineral, peach tart nose; tasty, peach, baked peach palate with low acidity; medium finish 92+ pts.
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1994 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg Cuvée Laurence 94 Points
France, Alsace
Group's #2 (my #1) – 56 pts.; 4, 4, 2, 0 – medium golden yellow color with clear meniscus; rich apricot, mineral nose; rich, tasty, tart apricot, ripe lemon, mineral palate with good balance; medium-plus finish 94+ pts. (declassified SGN)
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1997 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes 93 Points
France, Alsace
Group's #3 (my #2) – 62 pts.; 1, 5, 5, 1 – medium golden color; earthy, mineral, ripe peach, baked peach nose; light, floaty, ripe peach, mineral, juicy, creme brulee, tart apricot palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish 93+ pts.
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1999 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Goldert 92 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Group's #4 (my #4) – 64 pts.; 5, 2, 1, 0 - light medium golden yellow color; cream, botrytis, baked peach, honey, floral nose; tart pineapple, lemon, tart peach, mineral palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.
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1999 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim Vieilles Vignes 93 Points
France, Alsace
Group's #5 (my #3) – 89 pts.; 1, 0, 3, 1 – medium golden yellow color; old roses, geranium, baked lemon, mineral, clementine nose; tasty, maturing, tart lemon, rose petal, smoke, mineral palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish
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1996 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive 88 Points
France, Alsace
Group's #6 (my #8) – 94 pts.; 1, 1, 0, 3 – medium orange color with clear meniscus; mature, melted butter, baked tart apricot, oxidized, mushroom nose; mature, oxidized, ripe lemon, baked lemon, baked apricot, mineral, nutty palate lacking acidity; medium-plus finish
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1997 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg 92 Points
France, Alsace
Group's #7 (my #6) – 112 pts.; 1, 1, 0, 5 - light medium gold color; very floral, honey, apricot honey, clementine, mineral nose; tasty, tightish, tart lemon, baked lemon, mineral palate with a vague sense of savory; medium-plus finish
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1997 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 89 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Group's #8 (my #7) – 115 pts.; 1, 1, 1, 7 - medium amber gold color with clear meniscus; floral, old roses, musty, mineral, geranium nose; heading down hill, mineral, tart grapefruit, citrus, roses palate with medium acidity; medium finish
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