Hugel Alsace Gentil 2019 (France)

The Gentil 'Hugel' is the perfect introduction to Alsace wines as it combines the qualities of all our white varietals. This wine revives an ancient Alsace tradition that wines assembled from noble grape varieties were called "Gentil". Gentil "Hugel" allies the suave, spicy flavour of Gewurztraminer, the body of Pinot Gris, the finesse of Riesling, the grapiness of Muscat and the refreshing character of Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner.

2019 has once again been an extreme vintage in Alsace. An extremely mild winter, at first, without a single day below zero, and a beginning of spring proving extremely stable, mild as well, but with cold nights which saw budding start on March 23rd. By May 15th, the vine had only grown 3 to 5 cm and the temperatures came dangerously close to freezing at several occasions, finally without damage. The month of June, wet, will in the end be a blessing, closely followed by drought conditions and two heatwaves on June 25th and July23rd. Two good rainstorms will put an end to it on July 27th and 28th. The remaining of summer will be ideal, sunny, with cool nights for a start of harvest on September 18th. The quantities in 2019 are short, and Hugel hasn't produced any botrytis wine. But all the dry wines produced will be great wines; 2019 will be in the top trio of the decade.

A kaleidoscope of grapiness, produced exclusively from hand harvested grapes in predominantly clay and limestone vineyards, from a dozen of the most favored localities in and around Riquewihr. A cool and long growing season gives this unique dry wine great finesse and unequalled drinkability.

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 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 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. Winery Notes