Famille Hugel
Famille Hugel, Sélection de Grains Nobles, AOC Alsace, Blanc, 1998
Great specialty for several generations of the Hugel family, who drafted the law on late harvest.
Wine with great power and longevity to taste religiously by itself during a special occasion.
Wine with great power and longevity to taste religiously by itself during a special occasion.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 13° % vol.
Residual Sugar : 113 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 4.6 g/l
pH : 4.14
Age of vines : 35 years old
Yield : 14 hl/ha hL/ha
Presentation
Quick View
These wines made from single berry selection of overripe and shrivelled grapes picked one by one and produced in the greatest years only. The action of noble rot (botrytis cinerea) gives them an almost unlimited ability to age. They are part of the elite of the greatest wines in France.
The vintage
Fourth great vintage in a row, for the first time this century in Alsace ! The weather was uneven all year, but flowering passed without incident, followed by a heatwave from early August until 15th September. The harvest began early, on 24th September, giving very good results for our bought-in grapes. Grapes from our own Estate were picked under ideal conditions, and gave an appreciable quantity of late-picked over-ripe wines. An excellent crop of Gewurztraminer made up for the very small harvest in 1997.
In the vineyard
Produced from over-ripened grapes, picked one by one in a selection of the oldest plots of the Hugel estate in the heart of the grand cru Sporen made up of Lias clay-marl, decalcified on the surface, exceptionally rich in phosphoric acid
Harvest date : 23 & 28. Oct. 1998
Potential alcohol : 19°6
Harvest date : 23 & 28. Oct. 1998
Potential alcohol : 19°6
Winemaking
The grapes are taken in small tubs to the presses, which are filled by gravity, without any pumping or other mechanical intervention.
After pressing, the must is decanted for a few hours, then fermented in temperature-controlled barrels or vats (at 18 to 24°C). The wine is racked just once, before natural clarification during the course of the winter. The following spring, the wine is lightly filtered just before bottling, and the bottles are then aged extensively in our cellars until released for sale.
After pressing, the must is decanted for a few hours, then fermented in temperature-controlled barrels or vats (at 18 to 24°C). The wine is racked just once, before natural clarification during the course of the winter. The following spring, the wine is lightly filtered just before bottling, and the bottles are then aged extensively in our cellars until released for sale.
Presentation
Photos of bottles and labels, 3 definitions, max 300dpi
Varietal
Gewürztraminer : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 13° % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 113 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 4.6 g/l
pH : : 4.14
Age of vines : : 35 years old
Yield : : 14 hl/ha hL/ha
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
The anticipation is obvious at first sight. The wine swirls softly and languorously around the glass, a picture of refined elegance in satin and silk, with brilliant gold highlights.
The bouquet is unique, a captivatingly perfect, concentrated, deep, harmoniously powerful aroma of oriental spices, orange blossom, marshmallow, honey, currants…
Liqueur-like, luscious, perfectly opulent, rich and ripe, it is elegantly balanced and suave.
An SGN that all fans of late-harvest wines should have in their cellars.
Serve it at 6°C, or cellar it for 15 to 20 years just for the pleasure of enjoying an intense emotional experience, with terrine of foie gras, pan-fried foie gras with quince, with fruit tarts, with Roquefort or with Stilton.
3 August 2006
The bouquet is unique, a captivatingly perfect, concentrated, deep, harmoniously powerful aroma of oriental spices, orange blossom, marshmallow, honey, currants…
Liqueur-like, luscious, perfectly opulent, rich and ripe, it is elegantly balanced and suave.
An SGN that all fans of late-harvest wines should have in their cellars.
Serve it at 6°C, or cellar it for 15 to 20 years just for the pleasure of enjoying an intense emotional experience, with terrine of foie gras, pan-fried foie gras with quince, with fruit tarts, with Roquefort or with Stilton.
3 August 2006
