2008 Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain

The golden-colored 2008 Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain is based on very low yields (21 hectoliters per hectare) and offers a deep, pure, intense and elegant nose of ripe and stewed apricots and peaches intermingled with delicate flinty notes of crushed stones. On the palate, this is a rich but most of all very elegant and even filigreed Saint Urbain Pinot with a stimulating saline and grippy, beautifully tart finish. The wine is fresh and lively, and the sweetness comes as fruit rather than as sugar. It's rare, moderate anyway, given this spectacular elegant and vivacious acidity. This is a superb and gastronomic Pinot Gris from one of if not the greatest vineyard in Alsace. The saline and crunchy finish is remarkably uplifting here. The 2008 is much better than former reviewers have thought and certainly is tensioned. Bottled in February 2010 with 12.5% stated alcohol with 46 grams per liter of residual sugar. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2023. "In 2008, the volcanic rocky soil of the Rangen produced some very high-acid Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer and allowed some noble rot to develop, especially in the bottom part of the Clos," wrote Olivier Humbrecht in his vintage report at the time. In contrast to other vintages, the fermentation in the Rangen wines took six months and "was very lazy, keeping a higher amount of sweetness, certainly because of the very high acidity in the grapes." He describes 2008 as "a very balanced vintage in the Rangen, allowing the soils to be green in summer because there was enough water. ... With less stress and a nice late season, the grapes retained a lot of amazing acid structure."