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

PRESENTATION OF THE DOMAINE ZIND-HUMBRECHT
+ ALL ITS OTHER WINES IN STOCK 
 
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Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Chardonnay "Clos Windsbuhl" dry white 2023

Technical sheet written by the domaine :

Since the 2021 vintage, the Humbrechts have been bottling a very small series of pure Chardonnay from Windsbuhl.

The 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 moderate 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 cru.

The high altitude, 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, ensuring good aging potential. Often harvested late, the grapes from Windsbuhl rarely botrytize, likely due to this high altitude, but they often reach significant levels of maturity.

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

If you enjoy wines from Zind-Humbrecht, you might appreciate those from domaine Boxler