WTN: Zind-Humbrecht TokayPinotGris ClosWindsbuhl '13..(short

Cracked this one last night from my orphan stash:
1. Dom.Zind-Humbrecht TokayPinotGris Clos Windsbuhl/Hunawihr AC: A (14%) 1993: Deep gold/slight bronze color; strong smokey/piney/pencilly bit petrol strong mango/pineapple/ripe spicy/nutmeg beautiful complex nose; soft/rich/lush/powerful/mouthfilling very strong mango/pineapple/ripe spicy/smokey/pencilly/piney slight petrol rather sweet (2%??) complex beautiful flavor; very long/lingering somewhat sweet strong ripe/mango/pineapple/PG/spicy rich/lush soft/fat complex terrific finish w/ ery slight metallic/tangy bitterness; shows no signs of oxidation or dreadful storage whatsoever; a lovely/terrific cocktail PG but not something I'd match w/ weenies & kraut or tart flambe; Much like an old German/Rheingau Auslese. $35.75
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This wine was by far the best from my Z-H orphan stash case. And not just because it was good...given the poor storage. But good on every count by any standard. Not really a wine to go at an Alsatian table.. but pretty amazing on its own right.
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2. I've long decried the effect Z-H has had on traditional Alsace wine because of their alcohol/low acid/RS and the huge scores they get out of Monktown. I've long contended that those wines are not going to age very well. Well....this wine may make me have to rethink that viewpoint. Maybe one that was stored in pristine conditions would not be as complex & lovely as thiis one. Dang it....I hate it when new data forces me to rethink something I "know" to be true.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Perhaps the ZH wines just need lots and lots of time. I have not had a grand cru from ZH that was past it.

Perhaps the ZH wines just need lots and lots of time. I have not had a grand cru from ZH that was past it.

Perhaps they do need lots of time, David. But I find they don't often make that dramatic improvement in complexity like we
often get out of a 20 yr old Mosel or Rheingau. They seem a bit like the Albans...they just keep rolling along w/ lots
of primary fruit but not evolving that much. This Z-H Windsbuhl had that great complexity that I love in an older Alsace,
but I don't often get in a Z-H. That said, it was pretty soft & sweet, so not a classic Alsatian food wine.
Tom

Every time I go for some days to Alsace (almost every year, 500 km from home) I MUST spend some minutes in the Clos Windsbuhl.
That place is so neat, peaceful and quiet.
It is on an almost hidden little and narrow road between Riquewihr and Hunawihr.
Vines and wines can not be bad, there.