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The Society's Vin d'Alsace 2019

4.000000000 star rating 10 Reviews
An excellent introduction to the wines of this most beautiful region of France. Rather than being made from a single grape variety, like most Alsatian wines, this is a blend, which varies a little with each vintage but always includes Alsace`s noble grapes: riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris, muscat and sylvaner. The style is dry, yet full flavoured and fruity, with a touch of spice.
is no longer available
Code: AL16061

Wine characteristics

  • White Wine
  • 2 - Dry
  • 13.5% Alcohol
  • no oak influence
  • Cork, diam
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan

  • 100ml of this wine contains 77 kcal
  • The bottle contains 10.1 units of alcohol
  • A 125ml glass of this wine contains 96 kcal and 1.68 units of alcohol


The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend adults do not regularly drink more than 14 units per week. For information and support on responsible drinking please see www.drinkaware.co.uk. For more information about how calories in wine are measured, click here.

Alsace

The region of Alsace lies in the rain shadow of the Vosge mountains in north-eastern France, divided from Germany by the mighty Rhine River. With the Vosge peaks protecting it from prevailing, rain laden westerlies it is one of the driest and sunniest parts of France outside of the far south and is a wonderful place to grow grapes.

However, the wines of Alsace are sadly still often misunderstood. Their Germanic names, flute-shaped bottles, reminiscent of their Rhine and Mosel counterparts, and diversity of styles have all caused confusion and doubt in the minds of those consumers unfamiliar with them. Furthermore the pursuit of quality through lower yields and later harvests has come with higher levels of sweetness in many wines, though most are dry and eminently suitable for drinking with food.

In contrast to many French regions, Alsace labels are relatively easy to read for many a modern wine drinker, showing as they do the grape variety clearly. There are some multi-grape blends too, ...
The region of Alsace lies in the rain shadow of the Vosge mountains in north-eastern France, divided from Germany by the mighty Rhine River. With the Vosge peaks protecting it from prevailing, rain laden westerlies it is one of the driest and sunniest parts of France outside of the far south and is a wonderful place to grow grapes.

However, the wines of Alsace are sadly still often misunderstood. Their Germanic names, flute-shaped bottles, reminiscent of their Rhine and Mosel counterparts, and diversity of styles have all caused confusion and doubt in the minds of those consumers unfamiliar with them. Furthermore the pursuit of quality through lower yields and later harvests has come with higher levels of sweetness in many wines, though most are dry and eminently suitable for drinking with food.

In contrast to many French regions, Alsace labels are relatively easy to read for many a modern wine drinker, showing as they do the grape variety clearly. There are some multi-grape blends too, and give or take some pinot noir production almost all the wines are white. The hierarchy of appellations is simple to understand too, with AC Vin d’Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru and AC Cremant d’Alsace for sparkling wines being all you need to know.

Vendange Tardive and Sélection des Grains Nobles are two further designations within those classifications for wines made from later-harvested grapes that are higher in sugar and wines made from grapes affected by botrytis (aka noble rot) respectively.

Grand cru wines must be made with grapes from a named vineyard site of that designation harvested at lower yields than those permitted for AC Vin d’Alsace wines. Though they are not all equal in terms of quality and many were granted such status to satisfy local political demands, many of these sites are producing some of the greatest wines of the region. There are about 50 such grand cru sites in Alsace and wines from these sites can only be made from four noble varieties – riesling, muscat, pinot gris and gewurztraminer – though the grand cru vineyards themselves can be planted with any permitted variety.

Curiously, though, it is often the producer name and brand that is considered of higher importance than cru, and some producers do not use the name of a grand cru vineyard on the labels of wines made from those sites. Different producers are known for their house styles and it is often this, and the trusted quality of their ‘brands’, that attracts the savvy drinker.

The grape varieties are varied. Gewurztraminer is a grape that divides people into those who love it and those who hate it. Highly aromatic, with scents of lychee, rose petals and spice (gewürz is the German word for spice), sometimes very dry and sometimes richly sweet, gewurztraminer from Alsace can accommodate many difficult food pairings. They include Thai and other aromatic Asian foods, ginger-infused foods, and washed rind cheeses such as Munster.

Muscat, so often made to be sweet in other regions, is nearly always bone dry in Alsace. Perfumed and grapy, muscat makes an excellent aperitif and partner to asparagus.

Pinot blanc is an excellent everyday wine, not so aromatic, clean and round and often blended with auxerrois with which it share a similarly clean scent and flavour profile.

Pinot gris produces full, rich wines, less spicy than gewurztraminer and capable of long ageing. It can be a superb match for food, particularly roast goose, smoked fish, Oriental dishes and a varied cheeseboard.

Sylvaner is now an endangered species, being superseded by other varieties. It makes lively, refreshing whites with good acidity that in the best examples can age surprisingly gracefully. It is often drunk with food in Alsace restaurants, particularly onion tart, ham, bacon and pork.

Riesling is, for many cognoscenti, the region’s greatest wine. Here it produces dry, fuller-bodied styles with more rounded acidity. Like its lighter, often sweeter German counterparts, it develops great complexity with age, taking on its distinctive petrol aroma.

The red pinot noir grape ripens easily in Alsace and more and more wines are being made, with more substance, colour and aroma than their historical forbears. Some from the best producers are showing the ability to age well.

Please see our How to Buy Alsace Guide in the Wine World & News section of our website for a more detailed feature on the Alsace region.
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Famille Hugel

Hugel is one of the longest-established Alsace houses as well as being one of the most famous. The family firm has made wine in Riquewihr since 1639. As well as having extensive vineyard holdings of some 127 hectares (including grands crus Sporen and Schoenenbourg), Hugel also acts as a négociant buying grapes from other respected growers.

The late Johnny Hugel was one of the most influential winemakers in Alsace, not only championing Alsace at home and abroad, but also helping to formulate important protection laws. It was he who obtained official seal of approval for late-harvest vendange tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles designations. Under the thoughtful management of Johnny’s nephews, Marc and the late, sadly missed Etienne, the business remained in safe hands, and now their nephew and Etienne's children are involved in this great family tradition.

Marc is the current winemaker, and in fine tradition the firm continues to make some of the very best examples of late-harvest wines from riesling, gewurztraminer and muscat available in Alsace today.

The Jubilee range of wines was started in 1989 when Hugel celebrated its 350th anniversary. These were made only in very good or great vintages and were synonymous with high-quality wines. All but the pinot noir came from grand cru sites. The Jubilee range has now been replaced by the Grossi Laüe ('great growths' in Alsacien), taking a further step up in quality.

Members visiting the pretty town of Riquewihr, where Hugel is ...
Hugel is one of the longest-established Alsace houses as well as being one of the most famous. The family firm has made wine in Riquewihr since 1639. As well as having extensive vineyard holdings of some 127 hectares (including grands crus Sporen and Schoenenbourg), Hugel also acts as a négociant buying grapes from other respected growers.

The late Johnny Hugel was one of the most influential winemakers in Alsace, not only championing Alsace at home and abroad, but also helping to formulate important protection laws. It was he who obtained official seal of approval for late-harvest vendange tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles designations. Under the thoughtful management of Johnny’s nephews, Marc and the late, sadly missed Etienne, the business remained in safe hands, and now their nephew and Etienne's children are involved in this great family tradition.

Marc is the current winemaker, and in fine tradition the firm continues to make some of the very best examples of late-harvest wines from riesling, gewurztraminer and muscat available in Alsace today.

The Jubilee range of wines was started in 1989 when Hugel celebrated its 350th anniversary. These were made only in very good or great vintages and were synonymous with high-quality wines. All but the pinot noir came from grand cru sites. The Jubilee range has now been replaced by the Grossi Laüe ('great growths' in Alsacien), taking a further step up in quality.

Members visiting the pretty town of Riquewihr, where Hugel is based, might also enjoy a visit to an interesting wine-themed museum there established by Johnny’s brother, André Hugel, and to their excellent fine wine shop.
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Alsace Vintage 2019

A mild winter followed by May frosts held back ripening early in the season but hot, dry, almost drought conditions in the summer brought ripening on and in the end August rains were a welcome relief. Those rains kept the grapes on track and beautiful weather at harvest time brought them to a perfect pitch of ripeness. As such, 2019 is a very good vintage, balancing structure and ripeness with freshness and lovely aromatics that will see dry and sweet wines alike ageing very well.

The Field

From mighty Famille Hugel: made from all six white Alsace varieties and gorgeously drinkable.

Jonathan Ray

The Field

From mighty Famille Hugel: made from all six white Alsace varieties and gorgeously drinkable. 

Jonathan Ray

2018 vintage reviews

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