TN: Domaine Zind Humbrecht 1997 Gewurztraminer Heimbourg

[Ray Barnes]

Well, what a nice wine. How often do you see a Gewurz with crystals of tartaric acid on the bottom of the cork? It's bright yellow, with a fair amount of tropical fruit, white flowers (!) and lychee on the nose, has some characteristics of botrytis, and a pretty long finish. The winemaker's 1997 vintage notes, and for that matter the Wine Advocate, report that the wine has 16.2% alcohol, whereas the wine label reports only 14%. The winemaker reports residual sugar of 23 grams per liter, but it tastes (IMHO) more like 30 to 40 grams per liter. It's likely a declassified vendange tardive. In spite of being almost 19 years old, this wine's fruit is still holding quite well - it could go on another 5+ years. The wine (in spite of the cork evidence) could use more acidity. If you like seeing drops of wine on the inside of your glass, you will like this. Very nice effort - would work I think as the penultimate wine of a long dinner, to be followed by a killer port or madeira. Very enjoyable, and not expensive (as I recall about $45 to $50). Would buy again. Overall rating: excellent - reflecting a deduction for the misinformation. Maybe this was a little better about 4 years ago. If the flavors were as complete as the aromas, this would merit a higher rating. I'm struggling to come up with a food pairing because of its sheer size. Conventional wisdom says foie gras, might even work with blue cheeses. Nice treat for Canada Day.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Reminds me of some Finger Lakes wines where liberties were taken with labeling and finer points of processing. Glad it showed well, and definite look out for older Finger Lakes wines, such as Standing Stone and Hermann Weimer, for some excellent Gewurtz


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