Famille Hugel - Riesling Selection de Grains Nobles, 2010
Maison Hugel is part of the history of Alsace. It was founded in 1639 and since then it continues to expand. The wine estate owns 25 hectares of vineyard, as well as being a négociant – buying grapes from some 300 local growers. Today Hugel is one of the main ambassadors of Alsace in the wine world.
Maison Hugel is based in the picturesque town of Riquewihr. If you happen to visit this village, make sure you pay a visit to their shop. It’s difficult to miss, being on the main road of Riquewihr. There you can sample a vast array of Hugel’s exquisite wines for free!
Over the years, Hugel has featured a consistent style. Most of their wines are rich and opulent, as opposed to some more restrained expressions (Trimbach for example). The current winemaker is the skilled Marc Hugel. Apparently knowing every inch of the family vineyards, Marc’s approach is sustainable and biological. He focuses on low-yield, minimal intervention and traditional practices.
The wine shines a rich gold hue in the glass, with a medium to deep colour intensity. To the nose, this wine shows pronounced and profound flavours. There is a richness and breadth that combines with a fantastic alive sensation. Ripe apricot, tinned peach, dried mango and gold sultanas mix with honey, white blossom notes, honeysuckle, ginger, and earl grey tea. In spite of its contradictions, this wine exudes both opulence and freshness.
On the palate, the wine is full in body, exceptionally rich, deep, concentrated and packed with intense aromas. The flavours are impressively intense, but also very sharp and precise. The purity of the ripe fruit is outstanding and then there is that thunderstorm of an acidity. It traverses your mouth like a bolt of pure pleasure, perfectly balancing the intense sweetness and the luscious richness of flavours. The clear granite minerality emerges like pure crystal. Despite my best efforts, words fail to describe this fantastic nectar which is an authentic powerful explosion of decadence and pleasure.