Famille Hugel
Riesling Classic 2016
This is the Famille Hugel signature wine. This dry Riesling stands out for its finesse and frankness and is the ideal partner to fish and seafood thanks to its wonderful balance and elegance.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 12.7° % vol.
Residual Sugar : 4.2 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 7.62 g/l
pH : 3.02
Age of vines : 22 years old
Yield : 68 hl/ha hL/ha
Presentation
Quick View
Riesling is the Pinot Noir of white wines! It is our most demanding variety as it is also the latest ripening. Dry and elegant, it expresses itself best on our steepest slopes with the most complex minerality.
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
Made exclusively from hand harvested grapes from predominantly clay and limestone vineyards, in a dozen of the most favored localities in and around Riquewihr. A cool and long growing season give this unique dry wine great finesse and unequalled intensity.
Winemaking
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 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.
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 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.
Varietal
Riesling : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 12.7° % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 4.2 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 7.62 g/l
pH : : 3.02
Age of vines : : 22 years old
Yield : : 68 hl/ha hL/ha
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
A very fresh yellow, pale green with dominant hints of green with lighter hints of the pale yellow of lime trees in spring, some silver, crystalline highlights, a pleasant energetic sheen, full and lively legs.
The aroma is still a bit restrained and serious but with the fresh, clear, precise and well stated fruitiness of lime, fresh kiwi, lemongrass, gooseberry, fresh moss and a lightly mineral flinty nuance.
On the palate this is a dry, refreshing and lively wine with a pleasant sense of tension and vivacity which enlivens the palate, it's rounded and full flavour amply quenches the thirst.
Ideal served now as an aperitif for those who appreciate the vivacity and tension of a truly classic Riesling, or served with seafood, fresh shellfish, fish Carpaccio, king prawns, cold cuts or a quiche Lorraine. Smoked fish, eel, bacon, smoked or dried ham.
Perfect for laying down for 1 to 4 years.
Best served at 8°C. After a few years it could be served with turbot, sea bass, monk-fish, lobster, king prawns, seafood, sander, pike, salmon, scallops, marinated or raw fish Carpaccio, goat's cheese.
The aroma is still a bit restrained and serious but with the fresh, clear, precise and well stated fruitiness of lime, fresh kiwi, lemongrass, gooseberry, fresh moss and a lightly mineral flinty nuance.
On the palate this is a dry, refreshing and lively wine with a pleasant sense of tension and vivacity which enlivens the palate, it's rounded and full flavour amply quenches the thirst.
Ideal served now as an aperitif for those who appreciate the vivacity and tension of a truly classic Riesling, or served with seafood, fresh shellfish, fish Carpaccio, king prawns, cold cuts or a quiche Lorraine. Smoked fish, eel, bacon, smoked or dried ham.
Perfect for laying down for 1 to 4 years.
Best served at 8°C. After a few years it could be served with turbot, sea bass, monk-fish, lobster, king prawns, seafood, sander, pike, salmon, scallops, marinated or raw fish Carpaccio, goat's cheese.
