Intro by Ross Bott:

Leonard and his son Oliver Humbrecht, winemakers for the Zind Humbrecht domaine in Alsace, are heralded by many as among the handful of best winemakers in the world. They take Alsatian whites consistently to a world class level, producing wines with remarkable purity and concentration, wines that are an experience to drink.

The Humbrechts have owned vineyards and made wine since 1620, with the land passed down from generation to generation. In the 1960s and 1970s, during a temporary drop in Alsatian land prices, they bought up many of the top
hillside sites, and these produce many of their flagship wines right now. They now own about 100 acres, with Oliver leading the vineyard management.

Zind Humbrecht makes almost 30 different wines a year, both regional and individual vineyard bottlings, and "normal harvest", "vendange tardive" or late harvest, and sometimes "SGN" or very late harvest wines . His wines are some of the most concentrated white wines made anywhere, combining enormous richness with a wide range of distinctive character which captures the particular varietal and each Alsatian subregion or individual vineyard.

We focused on the a single vintage, 2002, and tried examples of three of the four major varietals he uses -- Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat (the fourth being Riesling). The Humbrecht style brings out the spicines and exotic, almost tropical character of all three varietals, and made for an interesting contrast.

Zind Humbrecht:

As usual, these wines were served single blind.

The wines were best consumed when they were cooler. Once they began to warm, they lost some of their balance. I didn't score, but most would have been about 89-92 points. Nothing rocked my world but then again they probably would in 15 years.

• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Herrenweg de Turckheim - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace AOC
  15.5% Alc. A little sweet. Honeycombs, tropic umbrella drink notes, candied shell. So amazingly concentrated again. Deep dense this needs time. Long sappy finish that hangs on like a street hooker.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Turckheim - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace AOC
  15% Alc. Started out with notes of slate and mineral on the palate. The nose has a touch of petrol which I didn't find in the others. Good acid structure with lots of honey notes and a touch of lemon zest. This was the first wine I tasted and out of the shoot the nose had something weird. Coming back 20 minutes later, it was corked.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Wintzenheim - France, Alsace, Wintzenheim, Alsace AOC
  16% Alc. Tropical flowers. Big density and legth. Totally ripe. Dried fruit berry. The most golden of the 9. Bruiser – high in alc.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Muscat Goldert - France, Alsace, Gueberschwihr, Alsace Grand Cru AOC
  12.5% Alc. Lovely clean and light colored baby grand piano which sings from the rim of the glass. Tropical is the word. Fresh pineapple and apricots along with notes of fresh lemon and mineral rock all apparent. Dense / packed with concentration but in a feminine way. This is a going to be awesome.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Muscat Herrenweg de Turckheim - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace AOC
  13% Alc. Not nearly as dense as some of the others. Lighter, rocks, would be wonderful with oysters. Dry style. Twang. Simpler wine.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC
  15% Alc. Mixed tropic fruit nose with a palate of fruit, honey, and garden flowers. This has good length and fine balance.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Herrenweg de Turckheim - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace AOC
  16.5% Alc. Hints of lemons again with a twangy finish that threw the balance off. Grapefruit notes.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg - France, Alsace, Turckheim, Alsace AOC
  15% Alc. Nice yellow fruit, touch of honey and white flowers.
  
• 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl - France, Alsace, Hunawihr, Alsace AOC
  15% Alc. Nicely balanced and structured in a lighter style again. This has elegance. Long lasting end.
  

Thanks to Ross as usual.

- JK

Jamie - thanks for the notes. The Zinds definitely gain complexity with age in a good year. I like to drink Zinds along the way - at release and to age. Yummy wines.

Thanks Winetex,

How was the quality for ZH in 2002? While I have had a few with age (from 1994 at tastings with friends) I dont follow vintages in Alsace. I definitly like the complexity and hope to be able to taste some of these wines again in 10+ years.

The quality of the 2002s was behind other vintages. They seem a little light on acid and perhaps higher in residual sugar for some bottlings. I have the 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain in my cellar and it's on the sweet side. There is so much minerality in that wine that it's unusual and very good.