Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2055
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, pan-seared foie gras, apricot tarte tatin
✨ Technical Specifications
Famille Hugel's Gewurztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles is a legendary sweet nectar born from the historic clay-limestone slopes of Riquewihr. The Hugel family, particularly Jean 'Johnny' Hugel, championed the strict legal definitions for Alsace's late-harvest and botrytized wines, culminating in the historic 1984 decree. This rare cuvée is crafted only in exceptional vintages when autumn mists and warm afternoons foster the development of Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). Harvesters painstakingly select individual shriveled grapes by hand over multiple passes through the vineyards. The resulting juice is fermented slowly and aged in the estate's historic, century-old oak foudres, yielding a wine of immense concentration, balancing opulent sweetness with vibrant acidity and complex notes of honeyed apricot, lychee, and exotic spices.
🍾 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
7.5% - 10%