Pinot Gris Classic 2013
Famille Hugel
“Classic” Pinot Gris is one of the Hugel family secrets first released with the fabulous 2006 vintage.
This new release is from a drastic selection of the best grapes purchased from winegrowers under long-term contract in a dozen of the most favored localities in and around the village of Riquewihr and includes an sizable amount of grapes declassified from some Grand Cru vineyards of the Hugel estate.
The hand picked grapes were taken intact to the presses, filled by gravity, the must decanted for a few hours, then fermented in temperature-controlled vats with natural yeasts. The wine is the purest expression of the grapes, with a very natural and non-intervention vinification.
From The Wine Advocate “New is the Classic (former Hugel) range that represents “the essence of the pure, dry Famille Hugel style” and now includes Muscat and Pinot Gris, along with all the other noble grapes. The grapes of the Classic range are predominantly purchased but obligatory hand-picked from vineyards with clay-limestone soils in Riquewihr and neighbouring villages, and give classic gastronomic wines with a dry expression.”
Additional Information
Quite a deep, intense color, with pronounced straw yellow hints, it is nicely bright, with silky tears that run tightly down the side of the glass. The bouquet is soft and supple, intense, characteristically open and expressive, with fully ripe fruit notes, apricot, greengage, liquorice stick, a touch of buttery brioche, sesame seed, pistachio and fresh hazelnut. The wine fills the mouth, it is rich and well constructed, suave, velvety, soft and almost juicy, with a nice long aromatic finish.
Quite a deep, intense color, with pronounced straw yellow hints, it is nicely bright, with silky tears that run tightly down the side of the glass. The bouquet is soft and supple, intense, characteristically open and expressive, with fully ripe fruit notes, apricot, greengage, liquorice stick, a touch of buttery brioche, sesame seed, pistachio and fresh hazelnut. The wine fills the mouth, it is rich and well constructed, suave, velvety, soft and almost juicy, with a nice long aromatic finish.
Technical Details
- Appellation: Alsace
- Winemaker: Marc Hugel
- Sustainability: Sustainable Practices
- Soil: Lias clay-marl
- Avg Vine Age: 35 years
- Yield: 28 hl/ha
- Alcohol: 13%
- Ttl Acidity: 6.32 g/l
- Residual Sugar: 6.9 g/l
- Sizes Available: 750ml
- Pack Size: 12/750ml
- Varietals: 100% Pinot Gris
Recent Press
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Score: 90 Points
JamesSuckling.com Author: James Suckling
Date: Friday, November 18, 2016This has just a hint of the raisin bread aroma of Pinot Gris. Dried fruit notes range from pear to mango, but the result is much less extroverted than most Alsace wines from this grape. What makes this wine so good is the combination of some richness and remarkably fresh clean finish for Pinot Gris with a lingering herbal note. Like the Riesling Classic, this represents a clear stylistic shift from earlier vintages. -
Score: 88 Points
Wine Spectator Author: Alison Napjus
Date: Friday, September 16, 2016This minerally version is balanced and fresh, with a subtle mix of yellow plum, slivered almond, white pepper and smoke. Drink now through 2019. -
Score: 90 Points
Vinous Author: Ian D'Agata
Date: Monday, February 22, 2016"Bright yellow. A note of smoky reduction cleared slowly to reveal musky citrus and ripe pear aromas. Very rich and ripe in the mouth, offering gently sweet flavors of lime, pear nectar and mint. Has the mid-palate concentration to support its rather firm acidity. Despite its numbers (6.1 g/l total acidity and 7.5 g/l residual sugar), this tastes off-dry rather than dry, finishing with a juicy saline quality and a note of fresh lemon peel. Made from grapes grown on mainly clay and limestone soils in a dozen different sites in and around Riquewihr, a high percentage of them estate-owned."
