Technical presentation
| Bottling : | January 2024 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 12.5 ° |
| Residual sugar : | 2.6 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 4.8 g/l H2SO4 (7.3 g/l Acide Tartrique) |
| pH : | 3 |
| Yield : | 50 hl/ha |
| Optimum tasting : | 2026-2047+ |
| Average age of vines : | 41 years |
| Terroir : | Clos Windsbuhl |
| Sweetness index : | 1 |
| Available for sale : | Yes |
| Soil : | Muschelkalk calcareous, South/South East facing |
Description of the wine Riesling Clos Windsbuhl 2022
In 2022, the over-grafted vines with Riesling started to produce, so the production of Riesling on the Clos is now slightly more important. We suppose that in the 50s/60s ripening Riesling wasn’t that obvious every vintage, but today, it is a clear advantage to benefit from the cooler late ripening climate of the Windsbuhl in order to obtain elegant and racy wines. The top of the Clos, where the soils are more shallow and the limestone mother rock is close to the surface (we struggle to put posts in the vineyard!) was planted with Pinot-Gris in 1990. We decided to over-graft these vines with Riesling in 2021, and the result the following year was very interesting, still not in full production but with all the characteristics of a 32-year-old vineyard! As usual, the Clos Windsbuhl was the last Riesling to be harvested in 2022. The wine fermented very slowly without stopping to reach dryness in summer 2023. Bottled off its large oak cask and total lees.
Tasting notes
01/2024: pale yellow colour. Discreet citrus aromas on the nose. Windsbuhl is never demonstrative in its youth but impresses by its purity and class. Elegant palate, vibrant with good intensity and tense structure. Medium power, dry finish with this 2022 velvety ripe saline acidity. This is not an aggressive Windsbuhl but still, it will amaze lots of people who think 2022 only produced rich style of wines. The Windsbuhl distinctive style (acidity, delicacy, complexity) is well present in this wine that will age gracefully.
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.