Famille Hugel
Famille Hugel, Grossi Laüe, Riesling Grand Cru Schoenenbourg, AOC Alsace Grand Cru, Blanc, 2016
Grossi Laüe brings together the three great terroirs of the Hugel estate — the Clos du Pflostig, and the Grand Crus Sporen and Schoenenbourg — in their most gastronomic expression.
They represent the culmination of Famille Hugel’s savoir-faire and the purest expression of these historic vineyards.
They represent the culmination of Famille Hugel’s savoir-faire and the purest expression of these historic vineyards.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 12.5 % vol.
Residual Sugar : 6.2 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 7.62 g/l
pH : 3.08
Age of vines : 30 years old
Yield : 50 hL/ha
Contains sulphites.
Presentation
Quick View
Our Riesling Grossi Laüe is the flagship dry wine of Famille Hugel, sourced exclusively from the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru, the historic vineyard of Riquewihr renowned for its great Rieslings for centuries.
It displays a dry, racy and gastronomic style, combining ample texture, precise structure and remarkable ageing potential.
It displays a dry, racy and gastronomic style, combining ample texture, precise structure and remarkable ageing potential.
The vintage
After three years of extremely low yields, we can at last say 2016 has been a generous vintage! Unlike most of France, which has been severely hit by hail and frost, Alsace was probably the luckiest of the major wine regions this year. The vintage can really be divided in two halves as weather, which caused us great concern initially, then took a turn for the better around the end of June.
Spring did not unfold without incident, with a few frost alerts in April and even in the beginning of May, followed by the wettest month of June (157mm) in decades! Careful monitoring of the vineyards was key with an outbreak of mildew, extremely rare in the region.
The only window of bright sun during Spring came at the end of June, just in time for a perfect and, for the least, complete blossoming between June 17 and 21.
Summer came out very dry and hot and harvest saw dry and cool conditions (only three real days of rain in seven weeks) resulting in perfect sanitary status across all grape varieties. Due to the late vintage, harvesting started extremely slowly on September 27, one of the latest and longest campaigns of the recent years.
2016 is the first vintage in over a decade that hasn’t seen the production of any botrytis wines at Hugel; due to the late vintage and the optimum health of the grapes, noble rot did not develop, resulting in a classic vintage for dry wines only.
Spring did not unfold without incident, with a few frost alerts in April and even in the beginning of May, followed by the wettest month of June (157mm) in decades! Careful monitoring of the vineyards was key with an outbreak of mildew, extremely rare in the region.
The only window of bright sun during Spring came at the end of June, just in time for a perfect and, for the least, complete blossoming between June 17 and 21.
Summer came out very dry and hot and harvest saw dry and cool conditions (only three real days of rain in seven weeks) resulting in perfect sanitary status across all grape varieties. Due to the late vintage, harvesting started extremely slowly on September 27, one of the latest and longest campaigns of the recent years.
2016 is the first vintage in over a decade that hasn’t seen the production of any botrytis wines at Hugel; due to the late vintage and the optimum health of the grapes, noble rot did not develop, resulting in a classic vintage for dry wines only.
In the vineyard
Sourced exclusively from the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru, the hillside overlooking Riquewihr and the historic cradle of the family’s greatest Rieslings.
The vines, aged between 40 and 60 years, sink their roots deep into Keuper marl mixed with gypsum and dolomite, soils that lend the wine its spherical structure and distinctive saline minerality.
For over twenty years, these slopes have been cultivated without herbicides or insecticides, with every other row grassed over to encourage biodiversity, microbial life and to prevent erosion. The soils are worked mechanically through ploughing and hoeing, and no mineral nitrogen fertilizers are used. Organic composts of animal origin are applied occasionally to maintain the biological balance of the soil.
Biocontrol treatments and natural preparations have replaced synthetic products, following an approach based on careful observation and precision.
The entire estate has been certified organic since 2025, marking the culmination of a long-standing commitment to respectful and patient viticulture.
The vines, aged between 40 and 60 years, sink their roots deep into Keuper marl mixed with gypsum and dolomite, soils that lend the wine its spherical structure and distinctive saline minerality.
For over twenty years, these slopes have been cultivated without herbicides or insecticides, with every other row grassed over to encourage biodiversity, microbial life and to prevent erosion. The soils are worked mechanically through ploughing and hoeing, and no mineral nitrogen fertilizers are used. Organic composts of animal origin are applied occasionally to maintain the biological balance of the soil.
Biocontrol treatments and natural preparations have replaced synthetic products, following an approach based on careful observation and precision.
The entire estate has been certified organic since 2025, marking the culmination of a long-standing commitment to respectful and patient viticulture.
Winemaking
The grapes from the Schoenenbourg are hand-harvested in small containers to preserve their integrity on the way to the press.
They are pressed as whole clusters through long, gentle cycles, to extract only the purest and most balanced juices.
Each parcel is vinified separately to preserve the character of the cru, the individual expression of each site, and that of the vintage.
Fermentation takes place slowly in century-old oak casks, under temperature control, without any winemaking artifices or oak influence, in order to maintain the precision of Riesling and the clarity of terroir expression.
The wines are racked for the first time before winter, then aged on fine lees for several months.
A light, coarse filtration precedes bottling, ensuring the wine’s stability without stripping it of its texture or personality.
During the following winter, only the four or five finest cuvées from the dozen vinified are blended to create Grossi Laüe, the most complete expression of the Schoenenbourg.
After bottling, the wine undergoes a prolonged maturation for several years in the family cellars, where it refines its texture and reveals its full depth and complexity.
They are pressed as whole clusters through long, gentle cycles, to extract only the purest and most balanced juices.
Each parcel is vinified separately to preserve the character of the cru, the individual expression of each site, and that of the vintage.
Fermentation takes place slowly in century-old oak casks, under temperature control, without any winemaking artifices or oak influence, in order to maintain the precision of Riesling and the clarity of terroir expression.
The wines are racked for the first time before winter, then aged on fine lees for several months.
A light, coarse filtration precedes bottling, ensuring the wine’s stability without stripping it of its texture or personality.
During the following winter, only the four or five finest cuvées from the dozen vinified are blended to create Grossi Laüe, the most complete expression of the Schoenenbourg.
After bottling, the wine undergoes a prolonged maturation for several years in the family cellars, where it refines its texture and reveals its full depth and complexity.
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 12.5 % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 6.2 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 7.62 g/l
pH : : 3.08
Age of vines : : 30 years old
Yield : : 50 hL/ha
: Contains sulphites.
Advice
Tasting
The youthful robe hints at a wine that will not feel its age. The aromas immediately indicate the character of a remarkable, complete and mature region. The years of ageing have left their mark; this is an open, broad and profound wine. This Schoenenbourg is dashing, musky, smoky with the hints of fresh almond and fresh nuts, so typical to it which combine with the kind of patina and butteryness that would have you believe it had been aged in wooden casks. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is just a clear sign that the wine is perfect and that the grapes were harvested when fully ripe. The broad, flavoursome and intensely saline taste is full-bodied and lively, its energetic acidity is clear without any unwanted sweetness. This wine is powerful with a lot of character and volume, the final note is long and mouth-watering, it oozes serenity.
Ageing potential
Over 15 years
