Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles 2007
Famille Hugel
Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN or selection of noble berries) are made much in the same way as Vendanges Tardive but are made with grapes affected by noble rot and must have a higher potential alcohol and sugar level at harvest.
Vendange Tardive or late harvest wines are the sweet jewels of the the Alsace region and in particular, the Hugel family. It was Jean “Johnny” Hugel that first used the term following the 1976 vintage and who personally drafted the guidelines to producing vendange tardive that would become law in 1984. The law is strict and details several variables that must be considered including sugar and alcohol levels, vintage declaration, and vinification techniques.
Terroir: The Hugel Gewurztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles is sourced from the family owned parcel of the Grand Cru Sporen vineyard on the slopes just outside of Riquewihr. Soils here are primarily clay and chalk.
Vinification: Prior to harvest the intention of a vendange tardive is declared to the INAO. The grapes are allowed to sit on the vine until maximum sugar and alcohol levels are achieved. They are then hand harvested and brought to the winery for sorting and vinification. There are no pumps used at any point in the vinification process. The must is cold fermented and then transferred to neutral vessels to undergo aging. After clarification the finished wines are bottled and allowed to rest for a long period of time prior to release to the market.
Hugel Sélection de Grains Nobles is an extremely rare wine and is only available in the very best of vintages.
Additional Information
An absolute nectar! Great specialty for several generations of the Hugel family, who drafted the law on late harvest. Wine with great power and longevity to taste religiously by itself during a special occasion.
Technical Details
- Appellation: Alsace
- Winemaker: Marc Hugel
- Sustainability: Sustainable Practices
- Soil: Lias clay-marl
- Avg Vine Age: 30 years
- Yield: 45 hl/ha
- Alcohol: 11.25%
- Ttl Acidity: 5.3 g/l
- Residual Sugar: 159 g/l
- Sizes Available: 750ml
- Pack Size: 6/750ml
- Varietals: 100% Gewurztraminer
Recent Press
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The Wine Advocate Author: Neal Martin
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2015"From "a benchmark vintage for those who love elegant, pure, well balanced wines" (Marc Hugel), the golden-colored 2007 Gewurztraminer Hugel Selection de Grains Nobles S reflects the overripe, botrytis grapes that were picked "one by one" on October 9 in the oldest Hugel plots in the grand cru Sporen, with a potential alcohol of 22%. Finally bottled with elegant 11.75% alcohol and 172 grams per liter of residual sugar, this is an extraordinarily deep, rich, sweet and elegant Gewurztraminer with mango and peach flavors on both nose and palate. Although this bottling is so rich and so intensely sweet, it is nevertheless highly elegant, noble, delicate and full of tension and minerality in the piquant finish. Beautifully balanced and complex, with a great aging capacity."Grade: 95+ Points -
Score: 97 Points
Sommelier Journal Author: Anthony Dias Blue
Date: Friday, August 8, 2014"Rich aromatic nose; creamy and luscious with deep spice and rich honey; vanilla and intensity; incredibly long and balanced with a core of firm acidity. Stunning." -
Score: 95 Points
Wine Spectator Author: Alison Napjus
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2011"Lush and creamy, with crackling acidity backing apricot, ripe peach, mango, candied lemon zest, fresh forest and stony mineral flavors. Incredibly mouthwatering, yet honeyed and ripe, with a fine balance of the two that keeps this focused through to the very long finish. The result is a bright, vibrant wine that's still young, the playful colt that will develop into the graceful racehorse. Drink now through 2035." -
JancisRobinson.com Author: Richard Hemming
Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2011"Wonderful, fragrant tropicality. Ornate but not impenetrable. So honeyed, very creamy and thick, rolls over the tongue. Brilliant."Grade: 18.5 out of 20 points -
Score: 96 Points
The Wine Advocate Author: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Date: Friday, August 20, 2010The Hugel 2007 Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles “S” (The capital letter denoting a special level of selectivity and quality) boasts Riesling-like acidity to go with its phenomenal extract and residual sugar, and there can be no doubt that it is among the greatest wines in an illustrious line of nobly sweet Gewurztraminer essences that reaches far back into the Hugel history. Yellow plum preserves, kirsch, brown spices, litchi, caramel, gardenia, white truffle, and honey are all intimated on the nose, but in the mouth that this wine positively explodes with richness and concentration. Salt, honey, and implosive essences of mirabelle and citrus leave your gums quivering and your salivary glands pumping. This will give the phenomenal 2005 a run for its money over the next 30 years or more. It’s more severely concentrated, however, and hence, for now, less winsome.
