Gewurztraminer SGN S 2010

These wines made from single berry selection of overripe and shrivelled grapes picked one by one and produced in the greatest years only. The action of noble rot (botrytis cinerea) gives them an almost unlimited ability to age. They are part of the elite of the greatest wines in France.

The winter of 2010 was particularly harsh, with more than 30 days below zero, and temperatures dropped as far as -17°C. Budburst on 8 April was early, but flowering which began on 10 June took almost 3 weeks to finish due to cool temperatures. July was exceptionally hot and sunny, before cold, damp and rainy weather set in throughout August and into September. Ideal weather conditions returned on 11 September, with not a drop of rain for 6 weeks. Our harvest began on 27 September and ended on 26 October. Maturity reached record levels, the highest for 50 years, with good acidity, similar to 1996. Crop size was 30% below average, and even lower for Gewurztraminer.
Superb wines with magnificent balance, purity and fruit. 2010 is a great classic vintage, with good ageing potential.

Produced from over-ripened grapes, picked one by one in a selection of the oldest plots of the Hugel estate in the heart of the grand cru Sporen made up of Lias clay-marl, decalcified on the surface, exceptionally rich in phosphoric acid

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 extensively in our cellars until released for sale.

Geology and terroirs of Riquewihr