Domaine Zind-Humbrecht : Pinot Gris "Clos Jebsal" 2021

Hang on to your hat! Here's a dense and dangerous wine for a grape most wine drinkers think can only give no-brainers. Very compact and structured with a dark personality that some may find shocking, but what makes it that way is the gypsum marl minerality that is its soul. Brain-rattling freshness at the super stony finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

The 2021 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal is a monopole for Zind-Humbrecht. It is located between Brand and Heimbourg, utterly different from both, with calcareous marl and gypsum on south-facing terraces. In the past, this was dedicated to making sweeter wines with botrytis. The vines were planted in 1983. The nose has a flicker of reduction, followed by an aromatic notion of pear, freshly turned earth and orange peel. The palate has concentration and flow, a russet pear texture and a salty, cool, mouth-watering core. The saltiness is more intense than the fruit. The beautiful, bone-dry finish is very appetizing. (Bone-dry)

The Jebsal's bouquet is delicate, somewhat restrained. It reveals notes of white pepper and a floral touch. It is on the palate that the wine truly shines: the attack is saline and lively. It announces a vertical wine, slightly creamy, that gets straight to the point! You can feel its marathon inspirations; it has what it takes to go far… by running (but not too fast though!). A characterful, muscular, fine and persistent wine.