Riesling Vendange Tardive
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Rich seafood dishes such as lobster thermidor, roasted veal or poultry in creamy wild mushroom sauces, and mature, flavorful cheeses like aged Comte or Munster.
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the picturesque medieval village of Riquewihr, Famille Hugel has been crafting exceptional Alsace wines since 1639. Their Riesling Vendange Tardive represents the pinnacle of late-harvest winemaking, a category that Jean 'Johnny' Hugel personally championed and helped codify into Alsatian wine law in 1983. Sourced primarily from the steep, clay-limestone slopes of the historic Schoenenbourg Grand Cru, these grapes are harvested weeks after the main crop, often touched by the magical hand of botrytis (noble rot). The wine is fermented slowly in traditional large oak foudres, resulting in a masterpiece of tension: an intense, concentrated nectar balanced by the piercing, crystalline acidity characteristic of noble Riesling.
🍾 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.