2014 Riesling Grossi Laüe

Restructuring and reforming are ongoing at Hugel. Now, in the second year of conversion to organics, recruiting enough staff is challenging, and so is the market. Hugel is open about the commercial challenges: “Riesling and Pinot Noir are very dynamic in the market. Pinot Blanc also moves a lot, and Gewurztraminer is in a readjustment phase. We are really in a situation where we are adapting our volumes however best we can in the market. We try not to produce more than we need, but how do we envision future plantings?” he asks. “We are about to fully acquire Clos Pflostig, so we will be able to plant more Pinot Noir – which right now is the variety I cannot make enough of.” He notes that the bestselling Gentil blend is “a secret weapon,” and a place to use Gewurztraminer so long as a sufficient balance of Riesling can be found. About 2022, Hugel is also refreshingly honest: “What defines 2022 is drought. It was not hot but sunny and incredibly dry. We had two months of summer without a drop of rain. If you had clay soils, you had a head start.” But he also remarks that “most of France had a heatwave of 40-plus degrees Celsius – but not Alsace. Alsace was spared the heat but not the drought. Riesling does not deal well with drought. Gewurztraminer loves it, and so do the Pinots. Two thousand twenty-two was our second-lowest harvest due to drought.” He stresses that “due to the lack of a heat wave with temperatures in the low thirties [Centigrade] at most, acids were low-ish, but the aromatics expressed themselves beautifully.” He continues: “In 2022, we finished harvesting in three weeks. We started on 12 September, eight days later than the rest of Alsace. We like ripeness. We have embraced the fact that you no longer make Pinot Gris at 12.5%. We do not pick according to sugar levels, but according to sugar levels and acidity.” During my visit, I tasted current releases spanning vintages from 2009 to 2022 with three barrel samples from 2023, noting a proper step up between the Classic and the Estate ranges – as it should be. Some of the late releases are tremendous.