- 100 points -

#1 Top 100 Wines of France

This vision of pinot gris perfection creeps up to you on tip toe. Wonderful quince fruit and smokiness on the rather closed nose, followed by the impeccably balanced and delightful front palate. Then the hammer falls and the overwhelming crushed rock minerality hits you like a landslide that sweeps everything away. And somehow all this feels as weightless as a cloud! From biodynamically grown grapes.

- 98 points -

The most powerful and deepest pinot gris of this vintage from Zind Humbrecht with a ton of smoke, creme-brulee and mushroom character. In spite of the almost 15% alcoholic content, it is properly dry and has a wonderful liveliness at the finish. Drink or hold. Made from biodynamically grown grapes.

- 98 points -

Super smoky, spicy and flinty, this imposing and enveloping pinot gris is barely off-dry. Welcome to a world of smoky and textural complexity on the deep and refined palate. The power and concentration are almost as complete as the ripeness, effortlessly handling the 13.5% alcohol. Super-long, creamy and spicy finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.

- 98 points -

Super smoky, spicy and flinty, this imposing and enveloping pinot gris is barely off-dry. Welcome to a world of smoky and textural complexity on the deep and refined palate. The power and concentration are almost as complete as the ripeness, effortlessly handling the 13.5% alcohol. Super-long, creamy and spicy finish. From biodynamically grown grapes

- 98 points -

A giant Alsace pinot gris that’s brimming with smoke, caramelized-pear, cooked-quince and mushroom aromas. Very deep and ripe, but with spot-on harmony, the hint of grape sweetness beautifully woven into its rich and very complex texture. Astonishing finish that’s creamy and salty, smoky and stony all at once. From biodynamically grown grapes.

- 97 points -

Top 100 Wines of 2017

This is dailed back and dailed in. The purity to this is superb with crushed apple, peach, lemon and slate character. Full body, lightly sweet and very fruity but the linear length and focus are impressive. Like tasting freshly picked grapes. Drink now or hold for as long as you like. Energy. Purity. Almost minty finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.

- 95 points -

A flinty note of reduction still hovers above the nose of this wine. Concentrated and energetic, the drive is full of drive and urgency. The midpalate is all about phenolic structure and a tone reminiscent of apple pip and almond skin. The finish is dry and intense. More will be revealed from this still-disclosing aromatic canvas.

- 95 points -

Deeply colored, exhibiting a panoply of aromas and flavors, including jasmine, honeysuckle, dried apricot, dried orange peel, smoke, mineral and mushroom, with hints of clove and myrrh. This is set on a solid framework, with vibrant acidity to balance the richness, offering more with each sip. The long finish alternates between the pretty floral and fruit notes and hints of smoky forest floor. Drink now through 2029. 

- 95 points -

Great example of Pinot Gris, with tropical fruits, barbecued bananas and white peaches on the nose. The palate is much more refined than expected from the blockbuster nose, and 49g/l residual sugar is perfectly balanced. Complex stuff.

- 95 points -

- 94 points -

A well-cut, dry version, with a stony mineral undertow and aromatic hints of rose petal, lychee and fresh ground pink peppercorn accenting the finely knit flavors of melon, white peach, kumquat and blanched almond. Accents of ground spice echo on the lasting finish. Drink now through 2028. 60 cases imported.

- 94 points -

94 Cellar Selection

- 94 points -

Lots of dried apple, lemon and rose leaf. Mineral too. Full-bodied, off dry and round. A rich and flavorful white. Dense and layered yet agile. A beautiful wine. Made from biodynamically grown grapes.

- 93 points -

Bright deep yellow. Smoky camphor, peach and a hint of honeyed pineapple on the showy nose. Enters the mouth fresh, lively and precise, then turns slightly austere, showing noteworthy tannic bite to its orchard fruit and sweet spice flavors. A touch of marmaladey botrytis adds complexity on the lingering, ripe, rich finish. In 2001, high-quality botrytis targeted the Pinot Gris, so that a Sélection de Grains Nobles was produced with the grapes from the vines nearest to the river Thur; 

- 93 points -

A monolithic white, with a rich, smoky mineral character underscoring the firmly cut palate of glazed nectarine, dried papaya, crystallized honey and almond flavors. Well-spiced and intense, with a lovely, lasting and aromatic finish.

- 92 points -

A minerally white, with graphite, stone and smoke accents underscoring the crunchy white peach, pink grapefruit granita and almond blossom notes. Dry and medium-bodied, this finely knit, mouthwatering white should open nicely with short-term aging.

94+ Points

Bright gold-tinged straw. Enticing subtle nose offers scents of apple, nectarine, lemon jelly and herbs, plus an element of flinty, almost smoky minerality. Rich and dense on the palate, with lemony acidity (5.7 g/l total acidity expressed in tartaric, with a pH of 3.4) and noteworthy salinity lifting the youthful but already highly complex flavors of stone fruits, baking spices, minerals and lemon curd. A hint of noble bitterness emerges on the back that is very Rangen. Finishes long and classically dry (actually 12.9 g/l residual sugar, but the wine has such an acid edge that you won’t notice the sugar at all) and very light on its feet (13.4% alcohol by volume). This multilayered, highly refined wine promises to develop gloriously but is currently hard as nails. In fact, in 2013, the cooler climate and later flowering didn’t allow for extreme ripeness of the Pinot Gris grapes, so this wine is drier than usual (and devoid of noble rot). Olivier Humbrecht likes this wine a lot, but jokingly complains that he had such a small crop (hail resulted in a poor budbreak and flowering, with the 20 hectoliters per hectare production the third lowest yield in the estate’s history for this wine) that he couldn’t make as much wine as he would have liked.

93+

Luminous golden-yellow. Complex aromas of lemon verbena, crystallized apricot, mirabelle and minerals on the captivating nose. Rich and ripe, displaying a spicy touch to the orange marmalade and mineral flavors, lifted by vibrant acidity and floral nuances on the long, savory finish. For many experts (and I am among them), this is the greatest dry Pinot Gris wine in the world; the 2016 is its usual “monster of complexity” self, but readers should note that this tastes off-dry rather than classically dry.

17 Points

Rich and round and pungent. Very satisfying even now. Peachy. Really rather gorgeous already.

96+

Bright straw-yellow. Discreet aromas of fresh berries, pear, smoky gunflint and chamomile. Expressive soil-inflected, highly nuanced but austere flavors of lime, nectarine, minerals and nut oils display outstanding palate-staining concentration. Finishes very long, with a penetrating quality to its mineral and stone fruit flavors and a noteworthy light touch. A wine of nostril-piquing intensity but less ripe and complex than the 2010; by comparison, this 2008 is even more saline. The 2008 weather during the growth cycle was similar to 2010’s in that the summer was very cool but the late fall brought warm conditions.

(95-97) Points

Medium straw-gold color. Pure, highly aromatic nose combines orange zest, smoke and white truffle, with complicating notes of lemony, marmaladey botrytis. The strong botrytis character is obvious on the palate too, which offers an uncanny combination of volume and vivacity, with suave flavors of strawberry, ripe peach and pear nectar. Piercing acidity provides outstanding clarity and cut on the very long finish. A wine of mesmerizing complexity and impeccable balance, though not the richest or most powerful Clos Saint-Urbain ever (for example, both the 2009 and 2010 are bigger wines). I have long believed this bottling to be Zind-Humbrecht’s single best wine and this vintage makes my case.