Robert Parker : « Orange blossom and honeysuckle, citrus oils and a whiff of petrol mark the nose... » See more...
Robert Parker : « Orange blossom and honeysuckle, citrus oils and a whiff of petrol mark the nose of Hugel’s 2007 Riesling Tradition, which incorporates younger vines in the Schoenenbourg. Firm and bright but subtly oily on the palate, lemon and tangerine zest, cress, and sage all contribute to the finishing invigoration and grip of this sleek, energetic cuvee, a classic of its genre that will drink well for at least the next ten years.
Jean “Johnny” Hugel – a man without whom the reputation and evolution of Alsace wine since the end of the Second World War is unimaginable – died last summer. His wit will be irreplaceable, but his spirit and insights will continue to guide and inspire not only his family’s 371 year old firm, but – with luck, at least – the future development of Alsace wine as a whole. Not surprisingly, the Hugels were thrilled with their results in 2007, but as Marc Hugel points out “twenty years or more ago, a rot- and mildew-prone summer like 2007’s would have spelled disaster.” As for what would have become of 2006 “in the old days” even with the best will in the world, the Hugels preferred not to dwell on that. “I have to be honest,” relates Etienne Hugel, “in 2006, when I saw the grapes that came in toward the end from the estate – not to mention the purchased grapes – I said, ‘Mark, we aren’t going to be able to sell that!’. We scarified the fruit from less well-drained soils and picked those last. And we ended up selling off one third of our grapes.” That said, from a widely-distributed, combined estate-negociant like Hugel, a vintage such as 2006 with its extensive declassification offers a wide range of consumers the potential to drink wine from top estate sites at a lower price. And as it is, Hugel – like their best-known friendly competitor in the U.S. market, Trimbach – has hardly been resting on their laurels or neglecting the quality of their basic (or, as they prefer “classic”) bottlings: on the contrary, these are becoming steadily better and more consistent. »
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