Famille Hugel
Muscat TRADITION 2008
A very dry wine with pronounced grapiness, giving the impression of biting into a fresh Muscat grape, it is perfect as an apéritif and with asparagus.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 12.2° % vol.
Residual Sugar : 1.5 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 6.31 g/l
pH : 3.24
Age of vines : 25 years old
Yield : 65 hl/ha hL/ha
Presentation
Quick View
Not a sweet wine as many people expect it to be, but a dry and grapey Muscat, full of aromas.
The vintage
Climatic conditions were a carbon-copy of the excellent 2007 vintage. Budburst at the end of April was quite late, but May was warm and sunny so flowering began on 15th June and took more than a fortnight to complete.
July and August were particularly cool with hardly any rise in temperature, but in mid-September the Indian Summer arrived without a drop of rain. The sky stayed bright but temperatures were relatively cool.
As a result, the grapes ripened slowly but fully, perfectly healthy and with excellent acidity. In late October we harvested VT and SGN wines with historically high levels of sugar and acidity.
The 2008 Alsace vintage was already born great but may prove to be exceptional.
July and August were particularly cool with hardly any rise in temperature, but in mid-September the Indian Summer arrived without a drop of rain. The sky stayed bright but temperatures were relatively cool.
As a result, the grapes ripened slowly but fully, perfectly healthy and with excellent acidity. In late October we harvested VT and SGN wines with historically high levels of sugar and acidity.
The 2008 Alsace vintage was already born great but may prove to be exceptional.
In the vineyard
This wine is partly composed of 2 young estate plots, including one on the Schoenenbourg planted with Muscat d'Alsace.
Harvested exclusively by hand from the very beginning of harvest to ensure perfectlt sound grapes and good natural levels of acidity.
Harvested exclusively by hand from the very beginning of harvest to ensure perfectlt sound grapes and good natural levels of acidity.
Winemaking
12 hours skin contact on Muscat in 2008. After very gentle and skow 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.
The whole production of this wine is closed with DIAM the cork without the risk of cork taint.
Presentation
Photos of bottles and labels, 3 definitions, max 300dpi
Varietals
Muscat ottonel : 60%
Muscat blanc à petits grains : 40%
Muscat blanc à petits grains : 40%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 12.2° % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 1.5 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 6.31 g/l
pH : : 3.24
Age of vines : : 25 years old
Yield : : 65 hl/ha hL/ha
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
I always await the release of a new Muscat with impatience, because I have a weakness for Muscat wines in general, and for Alsace Muscat in particular, for it is a traditional dry wine with a grapey Muscat fragrance.
This 2008 is fresh, young and alert, with a joyful aromatic expression and a nice Muscat perfume. It is also very floral, with the liveliness and bite that are the first requirements of such a wine : to be dry, refreshing and easy to enjoy, light, crisp and aromatic, a true Alsace Muscat in fact.
Drink it well chilled at 6° to 8°C as soon as it hits the glass, so as not to miss the aromatic sparkle of the Muscat grape on the tongue, and the unfailing sensation of unquenchable thirst that assails me when tasting a fine Alsace Muscat.
Drink it without hesitation as an aperitif, or with goat's cheese, or with dishes that can even be strong-flavoured or spicy.
This 2008 is fresh, young and alert, with a joyful aromatic expression and a nice Muscat perfume. It is also very floral, with the liveliness and bite that are the first requirements of such a wine : to be dry, refreshing and easy to enjoy, light, crisp and aromatic, a true Alsace Muscat in fact.
Drink it well chilled at 6° to 8°C as soon as it hits the glass, so as not to miss the aromatic sparkle of the Muscat grape on the tongue, and the unfailing sensation of unquenchable thirst that assails me when tasting a fine Alsace Muscat.
Drink it without hesitation as an aperitif, or with goat's cheese, or with dishes that can even be strong-flavoured or spicy.
