Smoky and slightly acrid, brackish, alkaline, and peaty notes make for a striking and vineyard-typical nose to the Humbrechts- 2009 Gewurztraminer Rangen Clos Saint Urbain, and corresponding elements lend counterpoint and tension to a palate that might well otherwise seem overly sweet. Clove, rose petal, and litchi offer familiar expressions of the grape in question, while overripe peach, mango, and banana contribute an undeniably gaudy and colorful impression. As this opens to the air, the reductive aspects diminish, and with them the intensity of penetrating pungency so that one is left with a balance of enveloping richness with an energy uncommon for the vintage, even if the wine-s sheer sweetness comes close to excess. This will certainly keep well for at least 12-15 years, but I suspect if would need to age far longer than that - and perhaps it will - if one wants for it to dry out significantly.
by David Schildknecht, Issue #194, May 2011