SOUTHERN / AMERICAN / PACIFIC WINE & SPIRITS® Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2011 [375 ml] (Alsace, France) – [JS 96] [VM 94] – 6046184145055

About This Wine:
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.

These wines made from overripe grapes are picked well after the classic vintage and in the greatest years only. The action of noble rot (botrytis cinerea) gives them an almost unlimited ability to age. They are part of the elite of the greatest wines in France.

The vintage :
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.

In the vineyard :
Produced from over-ripened grapes in a selection of the oldest plots of the Hugel estate in the heart of the grand cru Sporen made up of Lias clay-marl, decalcified on the surface, exceptionally rich in phosphoric acid
Date of harvest : 14 October 2011
Potential alcohol : 17°7

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 extensively in our cellars until released for sale.

96 Points – James Suckling:
“This is very dense and rich with intensity and richness, yet so bright and transparent. Full body. The racy acidity balances out the wine. Lots of botrytis. So pure and clean. Drink or hold.” (9 Jul, 2019 )

94 Points – Vinous Media:
“Bright golden-tinged yellow. Orange marmalade, mango, cured meats and bananas Foster on the showy, sexy nose. Deep, tactile sweet Gewürz (80 g/L r.s. and 4.5 g/L total acidity), made from late-harvested grapes and boasting very pure, rich flavors of tangerine peel, orange marmalade and cinnamon. Knockout wine that is complex and multilayered, but not over the top or too opulent. Finishes clean and tasty, with good botrytis tang. Checking back in my notes, I see I first reviewed this very pretty wine back in 2012, and my score now is identical to what it was back then. ” – Ian D’Agata (Jan 2019)