Famille Hugel
Riesling GROSSI LAUE 2014
Grossi Laüe signifies the finest vineyards in Alsace dialect and represents an equivalent to the German Grosses Gewächs or the Burgundian Grand Cru.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 13.7 % vol.
Residual Sugar : 5.8 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 8.27 g/l
pH : 3.03
Age of vines : 31 years old
Yield : 43 hL/ha
Presentation
Quick View
Great classic Riesling which starts to show its promisses but which will gain in complexity for 8 years or more. Its minerality and long complex aftertaste will make it the ideal partner to noble fish or seafood dishes.
The vintage
2015 will go down as an exceptional vintage for the whole of France with one of the hottest and driest summers since 2003 and a quality reminding us of vintages like 1945 or 1976!
Spring was pleasant and sunny and the vines budded slightly later than usual, around the 13th April, but blossomed during the first weeks of June, an early sign of an early vintage. This was to expect considering heat wave and the record low rain falls, 30mm between 4 May and 24 July!
Riquewihr and its clay soils seem to have escaped the worst and the heavy rain that came in mid-August saved the crop just in time.
We started grape-picking on the 10 September, three days later than the rest of the Alsace, and the first grapes to arrive in the winery gave every indication of an exceptional vintage. Only one day of rain disrupted the harvest, which was already well underway at the time. A nice outbreak of botrytis meant the most part of our Riesling de Schoenenbourg were harvested in late harvest, and once again the Engelkritt (Angels' Vine) won us not one but two "Sélection de Grains Nobles" for this grape variety, the most concentrated being at a potential of 23°!
Spring was pleasant and sunny and the vines budded slightly later than usual, around the 13th April, but blossomed during the first weeks of June, an early sign of an early vintage. This was to expect considering heat wave and the record low rain falls, 30mm between 4 May and 24 July!
Riquewihr and its clay soils seem to have escaped the worst and the heavy rain that came in mid-August saved the crop just in time.
We started grape-picking on the 10 September, three days later than the rest of the Alsace, and the first grapes to arrive in the winery gave every indication of an exceptional vintage. Only one day of rain disrupted the harvest, which was already well underway at the time. A nice outbreak of botrytis meant the most part of our Riesling de Schoenenbourg were harvested in late harvest, and once again the Engelkritt (Angels' Vine) won us not one but two "Sélection de Grains Nobles" for this grape variety, the most concentrated being at a potential of 23°!
In the vineyard
Produced in a selection of the finest plots of the Hugel estate in the heart of the grand cru Schoenenbourg. This fantastic historical terroir has been almost exclusively devoted to Riesling for centuries.
Keuper, marl, dolomite and gypsum, rich in fertilising agents, overlaid with fine layers of quaternary siliceous gravel, Vosges sandstone and Muschelkalk, with at its eastern extremity outcrops of Lias marl limestones.
Keuper, marl, dolomite and gypsum, rich in fertilising agents, overlaid with fine layers of quaternary siliceous gravel, Vosges sandstone and Muschelkalk, with at its eastern extremity outcrops of Lias marl limestones.
Winemaking
Hand harvested grapes from the family estate's Schoenenbourg 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 as individual plots "parcellaire" in temperature-controlled century old foudres (at 12 to 18°C). The wines are racked just once, before natural clarification during the course of the winter. The following spring, the wines are tasted, assessed and the best ones are selected in a family tasting session to be blended as Grossi Laüe. The final blend is lightly filtered just before bottling, and the bottles are then aged extensively 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
Brochure introducing the Grossi Laüe range
Video: Geology and terroirs of Riquewihr
Video: Geology and terroirs of Riquewihr
Varietal
Riesling : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 13.7 % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 5.8 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 8.27 g/l
pH : : 3.03
Age of vines : : 31 years old
Yield : : 43 hL/ha
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
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. The expression of a whole region.
