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Hugel owns 30 hectares of land in Requewihr (pronounced rik veer) and buy from another 120 hectares of vineyards under contract. They produce 110,000 cases of wine each year and 90% of their wine is exported.
Their Classic wines represent their entry level wines where grapes used for the wine are taken from vineyards of other growers. I purchased this wine at New District Wine Beer Spirits on Dunbar Street in Vancouver for $34.99
The Hugel family were instrumental in getting the Grand Cru classification system started in 1975. Ironically, because Jean (Johnny) Hugel of the 11th generation of Hugel winemakers was not pleased with the how many vineyards were awarded Grand Cru status (25 in 1983, another 25 in 1985 and one more in 2007), Hugel and other leading Alscae producers like Trimbach and Leon Beyer refuse to label their wines Grand Cru even though they are situated in Grand Cru vineyards (Johnny thought that only 20 vineyards deserved Grand Cru status…the rest should be considered Premier Cru). Hugel finally relented at labelled one of their wines a Grand Cru in 2015.
Hugel was also instrumental in pioneering Vendange Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles (essentially late harvest wines) and have the oldest working cask, dating back to 1715.
Hugel uses very old vats so that very little oak aromas are imparted into the wines. The 2016 vintage was a great vintage for dry wines and one of the first vintages in a decade not to have botrytis (noble rot) on the vines (very long growing season).
Grapes are hand picked and grown on clay and limestone. The grapes are destemmed then macerated for 6-7 days. After fermentation, wines are matured in old vats.
Hugel uses Diam corks which guarantees the absence of bacteria on corks for a specified time period. This wine uses Diam 5, which means the cork is guaranteed for 5 years after bottling.
In the video I mentioned the “Jubilee” series of wines. Hugel actually no longer produces this label, replacing it with the Grossi Laue or Great Growth wines. More on this in a future video.
For more information about this winery, please visit their website at www.hugel.com