Gewurztraminer VENDANGE TARDIVE 2006

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.

Presentation

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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.
The vintage
The harvest began on 27 September in bright sunshine but after a season of climatic ups and downs. There was a heat wave in July, followed by an August that seemed like November, until excellent weather in early September saved the crop. Two days of warm rain just one week before the vintage put everyone in their starting blocks and so set the rhythm for the harvest. This was a true vintners' vintage, where rigorous and skilful vinification has been rewarded with success. There are some very fine Gewurztraminers.
In the vineyard
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: 13 & 18 Oct. 2006
Potential alcohol: 17°
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.
Presentation
Photos of bottles and labels, 3 definitions, max 300dpi
Varietal
Gewürztraminer : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 11.2° % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 108 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 4.5 g/l
pH : : 3.87
Age of vines : : 35 years old
Yield : : 28 hl/ha hL/ha

Advice

Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
Silky in appearance, a deep straw yellow colour with golden flashes, star bright, excellent viscosity and rich, unctuous tears that cling to the glass and indicate a high level of residual sweetness.

A deep, concentrated bouquet of ripe grape aromas, with a touch of raisin-like over-ripeness, quince jelly, litchi, floral hints of acacia, may blossom and rose, a little spice, saffron and royal jelly.

On the palate, this is a magnificently well balanced sweet wine, with succulent fruit that fills the mouth with enchantingly pleasurable flavours and sensations. Above all, it is neither too powerful nor rich in alcohol.

This wine is already very agreeable to drink now at 6°C, or to keep for 8 to 12 years, simply for the pleasure of enjoying a sweet wine of exceptional quality. Serve it also with foie gras, with blue cheeses: Roquefort, Stilton, with desserts : fruit tarts, fresh fig...

12 April 2011

Reviews

91
"2006: Elegant, with textbook Gewürztraminer flavors of lychee, rose petal, cream and a hint of red grapefruit. The acidity is deftly balanced, and the finish is tangy, with lingering apricot and anise notes. Drink now through 2018. 50 cases imported. AN" [+]
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