Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" dry white 2023

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Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" dry white 2023

Guide RVF des Meilleurs Vins de France 2026 (August 2025): 96/100. More introverted in its youth, Le Clos Windsbuhl is harvested at just the right maturity, yet remains vibrant and balanced, very bright on the finish.

Tasting comments from the winemaker (January 2025): Brilliant pale yellow color. The nose is delicately expressive and reveals citrus notes, wet stone, fresh fruits, and above all a beautiful crystalline mineral sensation upon aeration. The saline acidity gives the wine a juicy and engaging texture while remaining very precise and refined. It is a wine that leaves a sensation of great purity and elegance, a form of airy lightness, yet the wine asserts itself with persistence and energy. Very long finish that heralds a great wine for aging.

Technical sheet written by the domaine:

Description: While history has recorded Tokayer (Pinot-Gris) on the terroir of Clos Windsbuhl since 1760, Riesling may have appeared a little later on this Clos. Known for having a late climate, the Muschelkalk limestone terroir – or Triassic dolomitic limestone – actually warms up quite quickly. The topsoil is shallow, and the roots quickly reach the limestone bedrock, benefiting from excellent drainage. Riesling is planted on the upper part of the Clos, which is rockier, facing southeast. Experience has also shown us that this terroir does not need power to express itself. On the contrary, healthy grapes will fully express the delicacy and verticality of this terroir, which is capable of retaining a rigor and acidity in every vintage that makes it its main characteristic. The yeasts are actually inhibited by the acidity of Windsbuhl and thus struggle to develop, and it is always with much satisfaction and relief that we observe the end of fermentation. A long aging on total lees in old foudres allows the wine to refine until bottling.

Bottling: January 2025

Alcohol content: 12.7°

Residual sugar: 1.2 g/l

Total acidity: 4.2 g/l H2SO4 (6.4 g/l Tartaric)

pH: 3

Yield: 39 hl/ha

Optimum tasting: 2027-2048+

Average age of the vines: 42 years

Terroir: Muschelkalk limestone (Triassic) exposed to the south, southeast, medium/steep slope.

Clos Windsbuhl is a historic Clos whose history dates back to the 14th century, and whose owners were the imperial family of Austria. Riesling is planted on the upper part of the Clos, facing southeast, where Muschelkalk limestone is almost outcropping on a steep slope. This elevated yet well-sunlit location allows for late ripening of the grapes. The sugar content remains moderate, but physiological maturity is complete. Although it is the last Riesling to be harvested on the domaine, Windsbuhl often has one of the highest acidities with a reasonable alcohol level. The fermentations are among the slowest and can last until the summer following the harvest to finish as a dry wine. This particular balance gives Windsbuhl wines, especially Riesling, a refined, energetic, and lively texture.

Clos Windsbuhl is located at the top of the municipality of Hunawihr, about 15km north of Colmar, overlooking the old fortified church of Sainte Hune.

Facing south to southeast. With a medium to steep slope (between 15 and 40%), the small hill of Windsbuhl is at a high altitude for Alsace (about 350m). The vines rest on a substrate of Triassic shell limestone (secondary) called muschelkalk, rich in clays and limestone rocks. The soil is very shallow in places, and the bedrock often outcrops in the middle of the slope. It is remarkable to note that Windsbuhl is on a terroir quite different from the rest of the municipality.

The degradation of this limestone by the microbial life of the soil allows for the production of true clays that will prove very interesting in expressing the minerality of the wines from this terroir.

The elevated location, close to the Vosges massif and sheltered from the northern winds, makes Windsbuhl a late terroir. Bud break and flowering are 15 to 20 days later than the earliest terroirs in Alsace. This delay continues until harvest.

This terroir is particularly interesting in warm vintages, as higher rainfall (about 650mm/year) combined with soil that allows for deep root penetration ensures greater resistance of the vines to drought.

The altitude of the vineyard combined with the later climate of Hunawihr means that Clos Windsbuhl is often one of the last vineyards to be harvested. For the same grape variety, there can be up to three weeks of difference between the earliest plots of Herrenweg and Clos Windsbuhl.

This explains the aromatic quality of the wines from the Clos and their constant balance in acidity, a guarantee of good aging. Often harvested late, the grapes from Windsbuhl rarely botrytize, likely due to this elevated location, but often reach significant levels of maturity.

The Clos currently covers an area of 5.5 ha across all grape varieties.