2008 Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Bottled in February 2010 after roughly 18 months on the full lees, the dark yellow-golden colored 2008 Riesling Clos Saint-Urbain Rangen de Thann opens with a deep, intense and flinty bouquet of smoke and crushed dark stones intertwined with ripe fruit aromas. Very complex and tight on the palate, this is an enormously pure and saline but elegant Rangen with lots of tension and the purity and terroir expression of more recent releases. It is very long and intense on the finish. "In 2008, the grapes managed to ripen to perfection and stayed very healthy, despite the late harvest," commented Olivier Humbrecht. The Rangen fermented very slowly but right to the end. 13% alcohol with just four grams per liter of residual sugar. Natural cork. Tasted in Wachenheim, Pfalz, in November 2023.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Blossoming nose – shows what the 2009 and 2010 are missing! Off dry, high acid, really layered, dense flavour and incredibly long. Has the Riesling nerve, and fragrance. (RH)
(13% alcohol, 4 g/l r.s. and 6.4 acidity) Medium yellow with a green tinge. Very ripe, complex nose showcases the smoky, flinty, minerally Rangen terroir, with hints of pineapple and lees adding nuance; more rocks than fruit here. Dense, silky and wonderfully tactile but quite dry, with dominant flavors of stone and iodine. Finishes uncompromisingly dry, with superb building dusty length and late notes of smoke and stone fruits. This got better and better in the recorked bottle.
About the producer
Widely acknowledged as one of the legendary wineries in Alsace, the wines of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht are nothing short of magical. Certified organic and biodynamic, the estate crafts an extensive range of wines, including many Grand Cru and single-vineyard bottlings.