Zind Humbrecht Gewurtztraminer Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain Grand Cru 2013 (750ML)

97 JS / 95+ WA / 95 WE

Crazy aromas of gun powder, dried pineapple and mango. Flint stone too. Full-bodied and lightly dry with a wonderful subdued and complex palate. Very long and subtle. Great gewurz. James Suckling

Yellow-golden in color, the 2013 Gewürztraminer Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain (which was picked one day after the Riesling and stopped fermentation with 42 grams of residual sugar at 13.5% alcohol) opens with a flinty/stony, pure, lemon-fresh and highly complex bouquet that reminds me more of a natural perfume with cumin and orange flavors than a wine. Rich and oily, highly elegant, piquant and salty on the palate, this full-bodied, firmly structured though stimulatingly mineral wine is a beautiful rarity: only 0.5 of the 5.5 hectares of the Clos are planted with Gewurz (the lower part with the deeper volcanic soils, with 34-year-old vines on average), and the 2013 combines power and concentration with purity, finesse and a dancing acidity. It is very rare that you can have such a stimulating and complex Gewurz that is extremely difficult to spit even for car driving professionals. This is a Must Buy for both Rangen and Traminer freaks. And shame on you should you drink all you can grasp too early. Drink: 2018-2014 Stephan Reinhardt – The Wine Advocate

The subtle, rounded but rather aromatic perfume of peach skins and apricot compote on the nose is utterly seductive—there is a promise of oriental riches and exotic spice but above all pure, glowing peach fruit. The palate is in total focus: while some residual sugar illuminates every last vestige of fruit, there is guiding central force that never lets this slip into the merely opulent. A masterful tightrope walk amidst plump fruit and mineral precision with a finishing, pleasantly bitter edge of marzipan. Anne Krebiehl MW – Wine Enthusiast