2013 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal

The Clos Jebsal is a terraced, steep, 1.3 ha vineyard with gypsum soils mixed with blue and green marl (Keuper), that took the Humbrecht family 15 years to round off by buying several parcels from six different producers. The vineyard was replanted in 1983 and, according to Olivier, is always giving sweet wines with botrytis. However, the 2013 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal is "one of the driest we have made so far," at least it does not taste as sweet as the technical data reads: 12.7% alcohol plus 68 grams per liter of residual sugar. Indeed, the 2013 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal is a foolishly missed Vendange Tardive. "We never thought a VT would be possible in 2013," says Olivier Humbrecht, who bottled this wine of understatement with 12.7% alcohol and 68 grams of residual sugar in August 2014. The Jebsal starts deep, precise, slightly flinty, lemon-fresh and aromatic on the nose, and indicates fine honey flavors along with stone fruit, pears, quince and grapefruit aromas. Very aromatic, lush, lovely, sweet, highly elegant and very piquant on the palate, this is a rather lean and very mineral, precise, and tension-filled VT-style that does not have the sweeping richness and opulence of the 2012 predecessor (at least at this early stadium); but does neither lack intensity nor thrill nor drinkability. Excellent and very stimulating, but you should better keep it.