Wine Advocate-Parker :
In Olivier Humbrecht's words, his darkened penny-colored 2006 Pinot Gris Rangen Clos Saint Urbain was - like its Gewurztraminer counterpart - harvested from "grapes that were torrified, cooked, almost like coffee beans from the botrytis, a bit like in 1993 or 1998." Even with very gentle pressing, the juice itself ran dark. That said, he chose to make a dry wine from them, thus running its alcohol up to 15.5%. Dried pit fruits, peat, smoky black tea, leather, and dried mushrooms figure in the nose as well as a palate that generates considerable heat. Almost hyper-concentrated and with a bright but detached streak of citrus, this finishes at one and the same time bright, bitter, alcoholically warm, and smoky. It's one of those wines where I tease Humbrecht that his passion for single malt Scotch whisky - acquired after he married a Scott - has come to influence his taste in wine. And perhaps my own taste is not as catholic as I claim, but I can't come to grips with or taste much point to this.
