Riesling Vendanges Tardives
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 10–30 years from the vintage release, though exceptional vintages can cellar well beyond half a century.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Blue cheese, roasted duck, lemon tart
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Famille Hugel's Riesling Vendanges Tardives is a monument to Alsace winemaking, born from a historic lineage that championed the very creation of the 'Vendanges Tardives' designation in 1984. Sourced primarily from the steep, clay-limestone slopes of the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru overlooking Riquewihr—a terroir celebrated since the Middle Ages—this wine is crafted only in exceptional vintages. The grapes are left on the vine to achieve overripeness, often touched by the magical hand of botrytis. Vinified in historic, century-old oak casks, the resulting wine is a masterclass in balance, where the natural residual sweetness is perfectly countered by the searing, crystalline acidity characteristic of noble Riesling, underpinned by a profound, stony minerality.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Established in 1639 in the picturesque medieval town of Riquewihr, Famille Hugel is one of Alsace's most historic and influential wine dynasties, passed down through more than twelve generations. The estate is globally renowned for championing the region's noble grape varieties, particularly Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris, grown on the prestigious clay-limestone slopes of Riquewihr. Famille Hugel famously pioneered the strict guidelines for Alsace's late-harvest wines, Vendanges Tardives and S lection de Grains Nobles, which they craft alongside dry, mineral-driven masterpieces like their Schoelhammer and Grossi La e cuv es. Their winemaking philosophy emphasizes minimal intervention, utilizing historic, century-old oak casks in their ancient cellars to produce wines of exceptional longevity, purity, and terroir expression.