Riesling Grossi Laue 2011
Famille Hugel
Grossi Laüe signifies the finest vineyards in Alsace dialect and represents an equivalent to the German Grosses Gewächs or the Burgundian Grand Cru.
Terroir: 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.
Vinification: 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 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.
From The Wine Advocate “Starting with the 2010 vintage, the Grossi Laüe range succeeds the Jubilee line, which was introduced to celebrate the family’s 350th anniversary in 1989, with the finest dry Hugel wines made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.
Grossi Laüe (Grosse Lage in German) signifies the finest vineyards in Alsace dialect and represents an equivalent to the German Grosses Gewächs or the Burgundian Grand Cru. It is the first time since the Second World War that Hugel uses Alemannic terms like Grossi Laüe or Schoelhammer on the label. Etienne Hugel points out: “After Réserve Exceptionnelle in the 1930s, Réserve Personnelle in the 1960s and the 20 years of Jubilee, Schoelhammer and Grossi Laüe mark a veritable return to the timeless cultural values of our family, deeply anchored in our historic vineyard terroirs. We have finally left the denial of everything what’s Alemannic behind us. It’s time to speak Alsace dialect now.””
Additional Information
“Harsh winter of 2011 with 26 days below zero. Early budding on April 7, May warm and dry and flowering 15 days ahead of time. Summer cool, damp and gloomy. Return to idyllic weather two weeks before harvest started on September 12, without any precipitation from beginning to end.
Excellent maturity in a fair size crop with soft acidity. Wines already charming, easy to approach and early to drink soon after bottling.” -Jean-Frederic Hugel
Great classic Riesling which starts to show its promises 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.
Technical Details
- Appellation: Alsace
- Winemaker: Marc Hugel
- Sustainability: Organic Practices
- Soil: Keuper, marl, dolomite and gypsum
- Avg Vine Age: 30+ years
- Yield: 45 hl/ha
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- Ttl Acidity: 6.2 g/l
- Residual Sugar: 3.7 g/l
- Pack Size: 12/375ml, 6/750ml
- Varietals: 100% Riesling
Recent Press
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Score: 91 Points
The Wine Advocate Author: Stephan Reinhardt
Date: Friday, January 19, 2018Entirely sourced in the Schoenenbourg, the 2011 Riesling Grossi Lae (375 ml) offers a deep, clear, fresh and fine bouquet. Sourced in the best three parcels next to the Schoelhammer, the wine shows a clear and fine, yet warm and rich, bouquet of cooked white fruits along with sweet almond aromas. Rich and intense on the palate, this is a full-bodied, powerful and slightly bitter Riesling with firm, but slightly astringent, tannins. Bottled with 14.2% alcohol the highest alcohol level the Hugels have ever bottled as Marc Hugel puts it. The acidity is rather low but still vital. -
Score: 93 Points
Wine Spectator Author: Alison Napjus
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2017"A graceful white that waltzes on the palate, showing fine integration of the intense acidity, with appealing flavors of ripe white peach, almond blossom and lemon parfait. A streak of salinity drives the lasting finish. Drink now through 2030. 300 cases made." -
Score: 95 Points
Wine Enthusiast Author: Anne Krebiehl
Date: Friday, October 27, 2017A hint of smoke and a touch of earth precede the fresh lemon notes of the nose. The dry palate, with its vivid impression of very pure, bright and incisive lemon freshness, still seems tightly wound. There is something brooding and alive about this it can be felt below the surface, disquieting but promising. This has barely started on its journey and will take a while to develop fully but its all already there, dormant and ready to unfurl with a little more bottle age. The pure, long and intense finish is a delicious promise. Drink 20172037. -
Score: 94 Points
JamesSuckling.com Author: James Suckling
Date: Friday, October 20, 2017A beautiful and clean wine with flowers, honey dew and gun flint. Medium body, bright acidity and flint undertones. Lots of aniseed, clove and burning-spice flavors here, too. So beautiful. Drink now or hold. Lots of potential here. -
Vinous Author: Ian D'Agata
Date: Friday, October 20, 2017Green-tinged straw-gold. Spicy, peppery melon and fig aromas are complicated by rose water and orange oil. Then sweet and fleshy on the palate, showing excellent depth and an element of refinement to its fruit cocktail flavors. Finishes noticeably tactile and sweet. About 20% of these grapes were of SGN quality, compared to the 10% to 15% in the '09 and '10, according to Marc Hugel. A luscious, broad style of riesling VT for Hugel, but my guess is this will develop extremely well in bottle.Grade: 92+ Points
