Technical presentation
| Bottling : | August 2010 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 6° |
| Residual sugar : | 380.0 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 6.1 g/l H2SO4 |
| pH : | 3.5 |
| Yield : | 8 hl/ha |
| Optimum tasting : | Only God Know ! |
| Average age of vines : | 30 years |
| Terroir : | Clos Windsbuhl |
| Sweetness index : | SGN |
| Soil : | Muschelkalk calcareous, South/South East facing |
Description of the wine Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl Trie Speciale 2007 - Sélection de Grains Nobles
Since we started to cultivate the Clos Windsbuhl in the late 1980’s, we realized that this late ripening vineyard had the potential to sometimes produce some rich late harvest wines. The poor calcareous soil and cool climate of the Clos Windsbuhl help the grapes to keep high acidity and therefore the wines from this vineyard have an excellent structure. It is impossible for us to decide wether this vineyard is at his best for dry wines or sweet wines, as both styles retain the vineyard characteristics, show excellent minerality and are harmonious. Certainly the vintage conditions would influence the style, and if 2007 produced very healthy Riesling, the Pinot Gris allowed some beautiful botrytis to set on the oldest vines. We only did one selection and the result was quite amazing, almost unexpected, at 217° Oechslés or 32% potential alcohol. The fermentation was similar to the Clos Jebsal Trie Spéciale and both wines were racked the same day, early January 2009. As we are only about to bottle the 2005 vintage today of the same wine, I expect this one to need many more months/years of ageing in cask before bottling time.
Tasting notes
02/2009 : Forget about this wine at this moment. It is pure botrytis juice, with incredible acidity and structure. The wine shows already fascinating aromas of citrus, honey, bee wax, nuts but it is far too early to speak about it today. Watch for the next comments in a few years…
The Clos Windsbuhl of Hunawihr
The altitude of the vineyard coupled with Hunawihr’s tardy climate means that the Clos Windsbuhl is often one of the last of our vineyards to be harvested. This explains the aromatic quality of the Clos’ wines and the consistent balance of acidity, a guarantee of good ageing. Although often harvested late, the Windsbuhl grapes are only rarely botryitized, doubtless due to the altitude of the vineyard, but nevertheless often reach high levels of maturity.