Hugel Grossi Laue Riesling 2012
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Winemaker Notes
A great classic Riesling which starts to show its promises but which will gain in complexity for 8 years or more. Its minerality and long complex aftertaste will make it the ideal partner to noble fish or seafood dishes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fragrant nose with delicate peach and quince aromas that are remarkably fresh for the wine’s age. Broader and bolder on the palate than the nose suggested, this is a concentrated and elegant dry riesling that’s just beginning to give its best. Super food-friendly! Very long, clean finish.
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Wine Spectator
A sleek, mouthwatering white, leading with petrol and spice notes that transition to aromas and flavors of ripe apricot and yellow plum, jasmine, pickled ginger and a touch of honeycomb. It's finely meshed and lithe, with the minerally underpinning returning to drive the lasting finish. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced in the best parts of the grand cru Schoenenbourg, so entirely from Keuper marls, the 2012 Riesling "Grossi Laüe" offers a clear, bright and fresh, very delicate and pure bouquet of white fruits with refreshing lemony and finely flinty notes. Full-bodied and quite rich but elegant, this is a fascinating, dense, long and intense salty Riesling with good concentration and a firm mineral and phenolic structure. The phenols could be softer, but I like this straight and robust character. This is a fabulous wine bottled with 12% stated alcohol. Diam cork.
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Wine Enthusiast
Lovely aromas of singed lemon peel, star anise and incense waft through the flavors of singed lemon peel, honeycomb, durian and flint in this complex, beautifully developed Riesling. It is finely knit with a suave texture, but well cut and intense just enough to keep echoing on the finish.
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In the cellars, the oldest of which dates back to 1551, can be seen rows of oak wine casks, over one hundred years old, crafted by the forefathers of the present generation of Hugels now running the company. Near them is the oldest cask in the world still in use: the Sainte Caterine, which has a capacity of 8,800 litres. It was built in 1715, the year in which Louis XIV died.
The company has always maintained its family character and is determined to keep it that way. The vineyards are owned and farmed by individual members of the family whereas the company owns the buildings and machinery.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
With its fairytale aesthetic, Germanic influence and strong emphasis on white wines, Alsace is one of France’s most unique viticultural regions. This hotly contested stretch of land running north to south on France’s northeastern border has spent much of its existence as German territory. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains, it is one of the driest regions of France but enjoys a long and cool growing season. Autumn humidity facilitates the development of “noble rot” for the production of late-picked sweet wines, Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles.
The best wines of Alsace can be described as aromatic and honeyed, even when completely dry. The region’s “noble” varieties, the only ones permitted within Alsace’s 51 Grands Crus vineyards, are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris.
Riesling is Alsace’s main specialty. In its youth, Alsace Riesling is dry, fresh and floral, but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics, and is often utilized for late harvest wines. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Muscat, vinified dry, tastes of ripe green grapes and fresh rose petal.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chasselas, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir—the only red grape permitted in Alsace and mainly used for sparkling rosé known as Crémant d’Alsace. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and unlike other French regions, are also labeled with the variety name.