Famille Hugel
Riesling VENDANGE TARDIVE 2010
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 : 12.30 ° % vol.
Residual Sugar : 45 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 8.82 g/l
pH : 3.15
Age of vines : 30 years old
Yield : 28 hl/ha hL/ha
Presentation
Quick View
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 winter of 2010 was particularly harsh, with more than 30 days below zero, and temperatures dropped as far as -17°C. Budburst on 8 April was early, but flowering which began on 10 June took almost 3 weeks to finish due to cool temperatures. July was exceptionally hot and sunny, before cold, damp and rainy weather set in throughout August and into September. Ideal weather conditions returned on 11 September, with not a drop of rain for 6 weeks. Our harvest began on 27 September and ended on 26 October. Maturity reached record levels, the highest for 50 years, with good acidity, similar to 1996. Crop size was 30% below average, and even lower for Gewurztraminer.
Superb wines with magnificent balance, purity and fruit. 2010 is a great classic vintage, with good ageing potential.
Superb wines with magnificent balance, purity and fruit. 2010 is a great classic vintage, with good ageing potential.
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 Schoenenbourg. This fantastic historical terroir has been almost exclusively devoted to Riesling for centuries.
Keuper, marl, dolomite and gypsum, rich in fertilising agents, overlaid with fine layers of quaternary siliceous gravel, Vosges sandstone and Muschelkalk, with at its eastern extremity outcrops of Lias marl limestones.
Harvest date : 12 Oct. 2010 Potential alcohol : 15.0°
Keuper, marl, dolomite and gypsum, rich in fertilising agents, overlaid with fine layers of quaternary siliceous gravel, Vosges sandstone and Muschelkalk, with at its eastern extremity outcrops of Lias marl limestones.
Harvest date : 12 Oct. 2010 Potential alcohol : 15.0°
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.
The whole production of this wine is closed with DIAM the cork without the risk of cork taint.
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.
The whole production of this wine is closed with DIAM the cork without the risk of cork taint.
Presentation
Varietal
Riesling : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 12.30 ° % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 45 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 8.82 g/l
pH : : 3.15
Age of vines : : 30 years old
Yield : : 28 hl/ha hL/ha
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
Lively young colour, pale green with pistachio hints, deep and intense, star-bright with shimmering, unctuous tears that run tightly down the glass.
Open, fresh, crisp bouquet, a nicely expressive and aromatic Riesling, very fruity and floral, with just enough elegant minerality to bring out the breeding and charm of fully ripe grapes, with no masking by botrytis.
A young, refined, fragrant bouquet of grapefruit, citrus marmalade, cardamom, white peach, lemon balm, bergamot and may blossom.
Fresh, crisp, lively and joyful on the palate, it shows good persistence and a very agreeable softness, with an aromatic, flavourful, refreshing finish. A wine of great personality, elegance and refinement.
Harvested at exactly the right moment with its Riesling character intact, it is a joy to drink even so young, but would benefit from some bottle ageing (8 to 10 years).
Enjoy it over the next 1 to 3 years just for instant, youthful pleasure, as an aperitif or with a fruit dessert : rhubarb, lemon pie, grapefruit, or desserts with lemon balm or citronella...
After 4 to 5 years, when it has gained complexity and its sweetness has mellowed, drink it with foie gras, freshwater fish like pike or perch in cream sauce, sea fish like turbot or red mullet, cheeses like stilton, bleu d’auvergne, gorgonzola, or with white meats, poultry, veal, partridge, pheasant...
Open, fresh, crisp bouquet, a nicely expressive and aromatic Riesling, very fruity and floral, with just enough elegant minerality to bring out the breeding and charm of fully ripe grapes, with no masking by botrytis.
A young, refined, fragrant bouquet of grapefruit, citrus marmalade, cardamom, white peach, lemon balm, bergamot and may blossom.
Fresh, crisp, lively and joyful on the palate, it shows good persistence and a very agreeable softness, with an aromatic, flavourful, refreshing finish. A wine of great personality, elegance and refinement.
Harvested at exactly the right moment with its Riesling character intact, it is a joy to drink even so young, but would benefit from some bottle ageing (8 to 10 years).
Enjoy it over the next 1 to 3 years just for instant, youthful pleasure, as an aperitif or with a fruit dessert : rhubarb, lemon pie, grapefruit, or desserts with lemon balm or citronella...
After 4 to 5 years, when it has gained complexity and its sweetness has mellowed, drink it with foie gras, freshwater fish like pike or perch in cream sauce, sea fish like turbot or red mullet, cheeses like stilton, bleu d’auvergne, gorgonzola, or with white meats, poultry, veal, partridge, pheasant...
