Domaine Zind Humbrecht Riesling Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 2022 750ml

The late-budding and rather late-ripening Clos Saint-Urbain, in the very south of Alsace, meets the very warm and solar 2022 vintage in this wine. What a thrilling setting this is, the more so since August and September brought rather cooler conditions to this cooler but, due to its dark soils and stony terraces in summer, nevertheless warm terroir of the Rangen. Indeed, the pH level was rather low in 2022 (at 3.1) and caused a dry and tense Riesling that doesn't at all show the characteristics of the Rieslings around Turckheim or elsewhere in Alsace. The 2022 Clos Saint-Urbain Rangen de Thann Riesling opens very clear, pure, saline/iodine-inflected and stony on the flinty or smoky nose that represents the volcanic terroir of the clos perfectly or, as Olivier Humbrecht puts it, "Like a volcano fart." Powerful, rich and saline on the palate, this is a dense, highly complex and energetic Saint-Urbain that somehow combines the purity of Dönnhoff's Hermannshöhle with the concentration, power and mineral complexity of the magnesium-rich Rangen. The finish is very intense, dense and aromatic as well as salivating, with a great mix of tannins, saline acidity and perfectly ripe (apricot) fruit. Pressed slowly over 14 hours, this is one of the, if not THE, finest Rangen I have tasted from Zind-Humbrecht. (Loyal readers know that I had them all a year ago.) The 2022 comes in with 12.8% alcohol and is a wine to keep for many years.

#46 of Top 100, 2024. The 2022 Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain Grand Cru was harvested among the last Rieslings but had one of the lowest alcohols, with 12.8 %. A lovely sharp, green aromatic flavor, almost of watercress intensity, fresh, green and vigorous without being unripe, sets an initial aromatic highlight. The famed smokiness arrives on the second sniff, followed by gloriously aromatic tangerine. The palate is exquisitely precise, stony, taut and naked, but oh so nuanced with immense citrus brightness. This is a marvel glimmering with zestiness, citrus and such stony directness. (Bone-Dry)