Pinot Gris Roche Volcanique
2019
Olivier Humbrecht is one of the world's most renowned winegrowers. He is a Master of Wine and has been described by Robert Parker as the greatest white winemaker on earth. Yet he is very soft spoken, humble, and self-deprecating, which makes him perfectly suited to his assumed role as a global ambassador of wine. He is a champion of terroir, biodynamic farming principles, and non-interventionist winemaking, whose family have been winegrowers in Alsace for 12 generations (since 1620). He is...
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This wine clearly shows all the originality of a volcanic geology which is unique in Alsace. The Roche Volcanique is made with low yields, but the older vines produce even less! For these ‘younger vines’ the aim is for very healthy grapes (no noble rot) in order to achieve a dry wine. For some unexplainable reason, the wines from this vineyard also tend to ferment fast and would keep little residual sweetness, as is the case here in 2019.
The original Pinot-Gris vines were planted in 1963 on the Rangen vineyard. After acquiring the Clos-Saint-Urbain in 1977, the domaine planted subsequently more Pinot-Gris vines between 1978 and 1999. Some vintages, there is an obvious difference in behaviour between the oldest and youngest vines. The dark volcanic sedimentary soil does degrade and produce interesting clay and minerals that are drained deep into the grauwacke mother rock. It takes a long time for the vines to reach these profound layers and in years with less rainfalls, the younger vines can struggle more. 2022 is also a vintage that had a big potential of grapes, more visible on the younger vines, so the difference of yield between old and younger vines was an important factor motivating us to separate the two wines. Obviously, younger vines doesn’t mean ‘young’ vines at 39 years old average!
The nose exhibits the classic smoky/flinty character so typical of the volcanic soil. Medium intensity but with a strong sense of place. As much as the nose is still slightly closed, the palate shows power and intensity with a persistent saline texture. This is a very dry wine with a relatively strict mouthfeel but high drinkability. The combine effect of a great acidity and mineral composition create a long lasting mouth-watering finish. Not a complete Rangen, but really not far from it!
Notes of raisin bread and cooked quince pour from the glass of this dry pinot gris with a level of concentration that makes most wines from this grape seem watery by comparison. Super elegant and clean at the long, mineral finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.
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