Pinot Gris ESTATE 2019

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 limestone soils of Riquewihr, in and around the Sporen give a characteristic density to wines from this remarkable terroir. A wine of depth and of patience.

Presentation

The vintage
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.
In the vineyard
Grapes carefully selected from within the Hugel Family estate including a high proportion from the Pflostig, strongly influenced by the chalky soils of Riquewihr.
The grapes have been handpicked into small containers such that they arrive intact to the press.
Winemaking
Gravity feed presses, no pumping or other handling.
After a few hours of decanting the must is then transferred to vats for fermentation at a carefully controlled temperature (18 to 24°C). Part of the wine (around 30%) was fermented in six to ten wine Burgundy barrels; this gives the wine body without the addition of any oaky character. A single racking before winter allowing the wine to clarify naturally without any artificial cold treatment. The wine is then lightly filtered in spring before bottling. The bottles are then laid down in our cellars before commercialization. The whole of the vintage was corked with DIAM, the cork without cork taint.
Varietal
Pinot gris : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 14.84 % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 6.5 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 6.7 g/l
pH : : 3.33

Advice

Tasting
The first highlights of the robe are the typical pale gold of a wine becoming older and wiser. The aromas are immediately present: powerful, strong, musky, opening on to yellow fruit and revealing the sense of depth that indicates the maturity of the harvest and its noble origins. There is also a certain patina, hints of noble wood to show that this is a Pinot Gris that has been given the time to achieve its best. The flavour is full-bodied, generous and remarkable for the almost chalky mineral character of the Riquewihr soil which is structured by a delicate acidity that makes this a very refined and noble wine. There are also the subtle notes of ageing that now fit perfectly and complete this wine which still has more to offer.