Famille Hugel
Riesling ESTATE 2017
A new selection "parcellaire" of carefully chosen plots of the Famille Hugel estate situated in Riquewihr in its most prestigious crus. Most of the plots chosen for this new wine are being converted into Organic viticulture.
The unique marl soils of Riquewihr, in and around the Schoenenbourg give a characteristic minerality to wines from this remarkable terroir.
A wine of depth and of patience.
The unique marl soils of Riquewihr, in and around the Schoenenbourg give a characteristic minerality to wines from this remarkable terroir.
A wine of depth and of patience.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 12.7 % vol.
Residual Sugar : 5.5 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 7.79 g/l
pH : 2.98
Age of vines : 36 years old
Yield : 50 hl/ha hL/ha
Contains sulphites.
Presentation
Quick View
Riesling is the Pinot Noir of white wines! It is our most demanding variety as it is also the latest ripening. Dry and elegant, it expresses itself best on our steepest slopes with the most complex minerality.
The vintage
This 2017 vintage year has been a real emotional roller-coaster ride.
The year started well enough with plenty of winter rain and a rapid first budding leading us into an ideal start to the spring season.
And then on the night of 19/20 April the Alsace region suffered its worst frost in 30 years. The damage was extensive but highly variable, anything from 0 to 80% destruction depending on the local conditions. Riquewihr was really hit very hard. All growth stopped for a number of days and the vines finally began to flower on 31 May. During the flowering season the conditions were perfect with regular rains and the vines grew magnificently throughout the summer. And almost no disease outbreaks whatsoever. We were wary of being optimist but we had a good feeling.
The harvest opened on 31 August! We started on 12 September under radiant sunshine. Then... Hailstorms on 17 September! That was not part of the plan, very unusual for the season and the region! Yes, 2017 was really turning out to be a hell of a roller-coaster ride. In the end there was little real damage apart from a Pflostig field which didn't come in until the next day. Phew.
At the end of the harvest the weather was perfect with the added bonus of some wonderful late harvests, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. It was a tough one but the 2017 vintage will produce really great wines.
The year started well enough with plenty of winter rain and a rapid first budding leading us into an ideal start to the spring season.
And then on the night of 19/20 April the Alsace region suffered its worst frost in 30 years. The damage was extensive but highly variable, anything from 0 to 80% destruction depending on the local conditions. Riquewihr was really hit very hard. All growth stopped for a number of days and the vines finally began to flower on 31 May. During the flowering season the conditions were perfect with regular rains and the vines grew magnificently throughout the summer. And almost no disease outbreaks whatsoever. We were wary of being optimist but we had a good feeling.
The harvest opened on 31 August! We started on 12 September under radiant sunshine. Then... Hailstorms on 17 September! That was not part of the plan, very unusual for the season and the region! Yes, 2017 was really turning out to be a hell of a roller-coaster ride. In the end there was little real damage apart from a Pflostig field which didn't come in until the next day. Phew.
At the end of the harvest the weather was perfect with the added bonus of some wonderful late harvests, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. It was a tough one but the 2017 vintage will produce really great wines.
In the vineyard
Selection "parcellaire" of some of the best plots within the Hugel family estate in Riquewihr in its most prestigious crus.
A very clear dominance of the
Schoenenbourg character with its unique marly character.
A very clear dominance of the
Schoenenbourg character with its unique marly character.
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 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 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
Geology and terroirs of Riquewihr
Varietal
Riesling : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 12.7 % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 5.5 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 7.79 g/l
pH : : 2.98
Age of vines : : 36 years old
Yield : : 50 hl/ha hL/ha
: Contains sulphites.
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
Very attractive to the eye with a nice and intense density, straw and lemon yellow with plenty of light green highlights, a wonderful brightness and silvery sparkle over tight and sophisticatedly smooth legs.
For the nose it is generous and complex with an attractive purity in its expression, well-stated and full-flavoured with a nice harmony between the fruity aroma and an excellent minerality which is quite unusual considering its youth.
Spring flowers, Granny Smith apples, white peaches, lilies, acacia blossom.
On the palate it leaves a sensation of fullness with all of the strength and lively noble temperament of the Riesling grape variety and its region’s river bed clay soil that guarantees its generosity, body and wonderful structure leaving a nice, full and long-lasting finish.
Ideal for immediate consumption. This is a gastronomic wine that can be laid down for 5 to 12 years, best served at 8°C.
Sea fish: roast turbot, ray in butter, king prawns and lobster, pike in Riesling, smoked eel, Arctic char. Coq au Riesling, veal Blanquette, roast pork.
For the nose it is generous and complex with an attractive purity in its expression, well-stated and full-flavoured with a nice harmony between the fruity aroma and an excellent minerality which is quite unusual considering its youth.
Spring flowers, Granny Smith apples, white peaches, lilies, acacia blossom.
On the palate it leaves a sensation of fullness with all of the strength and lively noble temperament of the Riesling grape variety and its region’s river bed clay soil that guarantees its generosity, body and wonderful structure leaving a nice, full and long-lasting finish.
Ideal for immediate consumption. This is a gastronomic wine that can be laid down for 5 to 12 years, best served at 8°C.
Sea fish: roast turbot, ray in butter, king prawns and lobster, pike in Riesling, smoked eel, Arctic char. Coq au Riesling, veal Blanquette, roast pork.
