Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Roche Calcaire 2023

This Alsatian dry Riesling is literally named “limestone rock” (“Roche Calcaire”) – if that doesn’t get the Riesling-lovers’ hearts twirling, a 95-point score from Suckling sure will. We’re cutting more than $20 off the retail price… so there’s really no reason NOT to try this savory, spicy, beeswax-laden white.

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht as it exists today was created in 1959 through the marriage of Léonard Humbrecht and Geneviève Zind, but the Humbrecht family’s winemaking heritage goes way back to 1620. Since ‘59, the family has assembled an extraordinary patchwork of vineyards, including holdings in several grand crus, and nowadays the estate is led by Olivier Humbrecht. (Fun fact: He was the first Frenchman to ever earn the Master of Wine title in 1989.) The domaine farms biodynamically and makes wine using only its own fruit, maintaining a commitment to low yields, native yeast ferments, and slow aging on the lees to give each site a chance to wholly express itself. 

The Roche Calcaire (again… "limestone rock”) is part of their terroir-focused “Roche” series that demonstrates soil-specific expressions – here highlighting the full, generous, high-acid character that limestone grants Riesling. The fruit is drawn mostly from vineyards around Gueberschwihr, the village south of Colmar that is the Humbrecht family’s home, where deep marl-limestone soils warm slowly and give the grape a long, late-ripening cycle. Olivier notes that these limestone sites make broad wines with firm acidity that perform especially well in warm years – a useful trait in the hot 2023 vintage.

The color in the glass is a dense gold with aromas of bright lemons and limes, then some lemongrass, fresh ginger, beeswax, and orange oil. The palate is bone-dry and vertical, filled with many of those same spiced, savory, citrusy notes from the nose and an immeasurably long and chalky finish. Dry Riesling and white wine fans are likely to already be salivating – but just wait ‘til you pour a glass! A worthy find from one of Alsace’s most revered estates, and well under retail at that. Give it a go, and don’t be surprised if “Calcaire” starts to sound like a pretty darn good name for your next-born child.

FOOD PAIRINGS: French monkfish stew – made with tomatoes, garlic, onion, white wine, and Cognac – served with rice… ridiculously charming with this bright Riesling (and a fabulous Fall transition meal).