Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles Vendanges Tardives
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 15 to 40+ years from vintage release, though exceptional vintages can cellar for over half a century.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, Foie gras, Apricot tart
✨ Technical Specifications
Famille Hugel's Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles represents the absolute pinnacle of Alsatian sweet winemaking, a style resurrected and codified largely through the tireless efforts of Jean 'Johnny' Hugel, who drafted the strict 1984 regional guidelines for these late-harvest nectars. Crafted only in exceptional vintages, this wine is born from the clay-limestone soils of Riquewihr, where autumn mists and warm afternoons encourage the development of Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). Harvesters meticulously hand-select individual shriveled berries in multiple passes through the vineyards. The resulting juice is so concentrated that fermentation in the family's historic century-old oak casks is incredibly slow, yielding a luscious, complex masterpiece of exotic spice, honeyed apricot, and eternal longevity.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1639 by Hans Ulrich Hugel in the fortified medieval village of Riquewihr, Famille Hugel represents one of the world's most enduring wine dynasties, spanning thirteen consecutive generations. The domaine oversees approximately 30 hectares of estate vineyards—largely concentrated in premier climats including the famed Grand Cru Schoenenbourg and Sporen—supplemented by contractual partnerships across Alsace. Sheltered by the Vosges Mountains in one of France’s driest meso-climates, the steep, south-facing parcels benefit from complex geological mosaics of Triassic limestone, marl, and sandstone. Viticulture follows sustainable lutte raisonnée principles with manual harvesting. Winemaking favors classical restraint: pneumatic pressing, spontaneous fermentation via indigenous yeasts, and élevage in century-old neutral oak foudres, devoid of cosmetic wood influence or chaptalization. Famille Hugel famously pioneered the modern codification of Alsace late-harvest wines; its benchmark portfolio is headlined by the dry, structured Grossi Laüe single-terroir bottlings alongside historically revered Vendange Tardive and botrytized Sélection de Grains Nobles cuvées.
🍇 Grapes
Gewurztraminer
🍷 ABV
11-12.5