Famille Hugel, Classic, AOC Alsace, Rouge, 2019

Pinot Noir now represents 8% of the total production of Alsace and with global warming the wines are steadily gaining in density.

2019 has once again been an extreme vintage in Alsace. An extremely mild winter, at first, without a single day below zero, and a beginning of spring proving extremely stable, mild as well, but with cold nights which saw budding start on March 23rd. By May 15th, the vine had only grown 3 to 5cm and the temperatures came dangerously close to freezing at several occasions, finally without damage. The month of June, wet, will in the end be a blessing, closely followed by drought conditions and two heatwaves on June 25th and July23rd. Two good rainstorms will put an end to it on July 27th and 28th. The remaining of summer will be ideal, sunny, with cool nights for a start of harvest on September 18th. The quantities in 2019 are short, and Hugel hasn’t produced any botrytis wine. But all the dry wines produced will be great wines; 2019 will be in the top trio of the decade.

Harvested in the first days of harvest, exclusively by hand, from clay and limestone vineyards in a dozen of the most favoured localities in and around Riquewihr. A cool and long growing season give this unique dry wine great finesse and balanced intensity.

The grapes are taken in small tubs to the winery, they are 100% destemmed and macerated for 6 to 7 days. After malo-lactic fermentation, the wine is matured in vats until it is bottled in early summer the following year.
The bottles are then aged 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.