Technical presentation
| Bottling : | February 2008 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 14° |
| Residual sugar : | 31.6 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 4.7 g/l H2SO4 (7.2 g/l Tartrique) |
| pH : | 3.54 |
| Yield : | 24 hl/ha |
| Optimum tasting : | 2012-2030+ |
| Average age of vines : | 44 years |
| Grape variety : | Riesling |
| Terroir : | Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain |
| Sweetness index : | 4 |
| Soil : | Sedimentary volcanic rocks (Tuffs & Grauwake), South facing, Very steep slope |
Description of the wine Riesling Grand Cru Rangen from Thann Clos-Saint-Urbain 2006
The Grand Cru Rangen enjoys extreme growing conditions: crazy steep slopes (80 to 100%), unusual sedimentary volcanic soil, much higher altitude (between 350 and 450m elevation) and a climate than can go from very dry and hot to very cold and rainy, due to he proximity of the river and the Vosges mountains. There is no doubt that these factors do help to produce wines with strong character and a very strong sense of origin and place. 2006 will stir up comments, there is no doubt about that, as ALL the wines from the Rangen have a special personality. First, botrytis was very important, especially for the Riesling and Gewurztraminer, which explains the higher residual sweetness and darker colour of the wines, but fermentations were also very persistent, transforming a high proportion of the sugars into alcohol. The Riesling Rangen was initially presented as a late harvest, but thanks to a high acidity and good fermentation, the wine has now lost some of this character, but still remains with an Indice 4.
Tasting notes
01/2008 : The nose shouts Rangen before anything else. There are strong aromas of herbs, ginger, aromatic plants (thyme) and of course, the classic flinty/earthy volcanic aromas. The importance of botrytis shows more through the darker gold colour than the nose, even if there are traces of honey aromas. The mouth is dense, rich, packed with toasted aromas and again finishes on dry flinty, rubbed stones flavours. The acidity is high, so the sweetness is well balanced. I can predict a long ageing potential here !
The Clos Saint Urbain, Grand Cru Rangen from Thann
The Rangen de Thann is the most southerly of the Alsace vineyards. In his book « Where Alsace wines ripen », Henry Riegert writes: « from the Middle Ages those wines which ripen on the Rangen hillside figure amongst the most famous growths of the whole vineyard region ». The Grand Cru Rangen de Thann, is situated at the exit of the valley, overlooking the village of Thann with the river Thur passing at the foot of the slope.