Technical presentation
| Bottling : | August 2021 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 13° |
| Residual sugar : | 50.0 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 4.2 g/l H2SO4 (6.4 g/l Acide Tartrique) |
| pH : | 3.5 |
| Yield : | 40 hl/ha |
| Optimum tasting : | 2025-2045+ |
| Average age of vines : | 50 years |
| Terroir : | Clos Windsbuhl |
| Sweetness index : | 5 |
| Available for sale : | Yes |
| Soil : | Medium slope, Muschelkalk calcareous, South/South East facing |
Description of the wine Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl 2020
The Clos Windsbuhl is located on the top of the village of Hunawihr, enjoying a beautiful view over the Alsace valley floor and the famous church Saint-Jacques le Majeur. Its position close to the Vosges forest at an altitude of 300/350m makes this vineyard relatively late ripening, even though its facing turns from east to south on a steep slope. The little ‘windy hill’ lies on top of an old limestone rock ‘Muschelkalk’ from the Trias period. With little top soil, the vines aren’t very vigorous and are strongly influenced by the magnesium rich calcareous mother rock, and so are the wines! Gewurztraminer may seem to be a challenge in such a location, but being able to harvest them quite late every vintage, the wines are always harmoniously balanced and carry a certain sweetness extremely well. The 2020 is a classic Gewurztraminer from this exceptional vineyard.
Tasting notes
08/2021 : Bright pale yellow colour. The nose shows intense and powerful spicy aromas (pepper, nutmeg) and a light toasty character, despite the absence of botrytis. It clearly needs some time to open up but the mineral influence of the Clos Windsbuhl limestone is clearly present. Eventually, delicate exotic fruit develops giving the wine a good sense of ripeness. The palate is intense, long, rich but with the typical Windsbuhl vibrancy and elegance. It clearly is a sweet wines that hides extremely well its residual sugars. Harmonious and capable to age well !
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.