Gewurztraminer VENDANGE TARDIVE 1989

These wines made from overripe grapes are picked well after the classic vintage and 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.

An historic vintage that coincided with our 350th anniversary. After a warm and dry summer, the harvest began early, on 27th September. It was a comfortable vintage for the classic range of Alsace wines, from the principal grape varieties.
However, for wines made from over-ripe, botrytised grapes, it was an exceptional vintage. By the time the harvest ended on 9th November, record natural sugar levels had been achieved, such as we had not seen since 1945, while the SELECTION DE GRAINS NOBLES wines outshone even those of the famous 1976 vintage.

Produced from over-ripened grapes 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
Date of harvest : 2 & 9. Nov. 1989
Potential alcohol : 16°6

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.

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