Technical presentation
| Bottling : | February 2003 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 13.6 ° |
| Residual sugar : | 30.0 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 4. g/l H2SO4 (6.4 g/l Acide Tartrique) |
| pH : | 3.6 |
| Yield : | 36 hl/ha |
| Average age of vines : | 32 years |
| Terroir : | Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain |
| Sweetness index : | 2 |
| Soil : | Sedimentary volcanic rocks (Tuffs & Grauwake), South facing, Very steep slope |
Description of the wine Pinot Gris Grand Cru Rangen from Thann Clos Saint Urbain 2001
The very favorable climate during the 2001 harvest helped to the development of high quality botrytis in the Rangen vineyard, but only for the pinot-gris. An SGN was produced in the vines nearest to the river Thur, the remaining vines produced this wine. If the terroir dominates in the wines from the Rangen, it doesn’t ripen the same way the pinot-gris and the Riesling in 2001. Despite a long fermentation, this wine still has some sweetness.
Tasting notes
01/2003 : The nose shows typical Rangen aromas : flintstone, peat, smokiness…which are also strongly influencing the palate. Quite unusually for this vineyard, it is already quite open, with intense exotic fruit at this early stage. I expect the mineral flinty character to overpower this wine in a few years. The structure is imposing on the palate, with significant sweetness. The balance will evolve with time towards a drier style.
The Clos Saint Urbain, Grand Cru Rangen from Thann
The Rangen de Thann is the most southerly of the Alsace vineyards. In his book « Where Alsace wines ripen », Henry Riegert writes: « from the Middle Ages those wines which ripen on the Rangen hillside figure amongst the most famous growths of the whole vineyard region ». The Grand Cru Rangen de Thann, is situated at the exit of the valley, overlooking the village of Thann with the river Thur passing at the foot of the slope.