2004 Zind-Humbrecht Clos Jebsal Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive Alsace (375ml)

From the site that generally buds earliest but gets picked latest (its deep marl “cools the roots down, forcing the grapes to take their time,- speculates Humbrecht), the 2004 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Vendange Tardive represents a break after eleven consecutive vintages of S.G.N. The vintner should count him- or herself lucky who gets a break like this! An amazing concentration of apricot nectar, lemon, marzipan, and honey is allied to pungent buckwheat and an explosively perfumed bouquet of flowers in a dazzling aromatic display that made me think: “Tokay - Tokaji? ... Pinot Gris - Furmint?!- Not terribly sweet (at 68 grams residual sugar) nor at all warm (at 14% alcohol), this penetrates with take-no-prisoners length, and should be worth returning to at any time over the next two decades. Furthermore, for all of its remarkable virtues, it's easier to appreciate this as wine and to imagine its evolution than is the case with many of its record-setting S.G.N. predecessors. (DS)