Tokay Pinot Gris Vendanges Tardives
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 10 to 30 years from the vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Pan-seared foie gras, Roquefort or other intense blue cheeses, rich pear or apricot tarts
✨ Technical Specifications
Historically known as Tokay Pinot Gris before international naming agreements, this legendary late-harvest sweet wine is a monument to Alsatian winemaking. The Hugel family famously pioneered the strict legal guidelines for the Vendanges Tardives designation in 1984. Sourced from the steep, clay-limestone slopes surrounding the medieval village of Riquewihr, the grapes are harvested only in exceptional years when overripeness and noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) develop. According to local folklore, the grape was originally brought to Alsace by General Lazare de Schwendi after his campaigns in Hungary, though it was later identified as Pinot Gris. The wine is fermented slowly and aged in historic, century-old oak foudres, resulting in a rich, complex masterpiece of honeyed stone fruits, smoke, and vibrant acidity.
🍾 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
Pinot Gris
🍷 ABV
12% - 13.5%