Domaine Zind Humbrecht Alsace Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain Pinot Gris 2021 (13.5% ABV) – 91
SR | Clear, fresh, and refined on the palate, with a dense and savory white-fruit aroma on the nose, the only Pinot Gris in our tasting offers an aromatically less exciting but savory and refreshing wine that is rather one- or two-dimensional and remains linear rather than widening the palate. I might be the wrong reviewer for Pinot Gris, but at least I am honest. 90
AJ | Pale gold still, though with the very faintest orange hue. Exotic, burnished, rich, but with a faint animal note, too. Some fresh fruits, though unassignable; and the "dragon's breath" of Rangen only faintly palpable. A surprise: The wine is dry! Very big in the mouth, and it seems to grow even bigger when it is there: dominant acidity, searching; some "stoniness," though not the same exotic burned notes that you get with the luscious sweet wines from here. The acidity, though dominant, is very rounded... And then the question has to be asked: Can Pinot Gris make the compelling aromatic allusions that Riesling and Gewurztraminer are capable of? Particularly in dry style? Are there dense fruit essences here, without the carriage of sugar and the extended ripening cycle that this implies? I'm not sure. But this is a commanding and astonishing wine, and perhaps we have yet to learn its language. Nonetheless, for the time being I think this would be better with longer on the vine. 91
AR | A golden bronze in color, this is the sole Pinot Gris in the tasting (that much we are told). Gently spicy in aroma, as we might expect, but what's surprising here is the fresh spritz on the tongue, the gentle freshness of stone-fruit flavors, and an acid sourness that I wouldn't normally associate with Pinot Gris, but that acidity brings balance and freshness to an appealing drink, if not quite the pinnacle of grand cru Pinot Gris one might hope for. 91