Friday, July 29, 2011

2008 Pinot Gris Tradition, Hugel


The family business Hugel making enormous efforts for the benefit of Alsace. The importance simply can not be over-rated. Etienne Hugel, who personalizes the Hugel spirit world-wide, markets Alsace wines worldwide, especially in Asia. The quality of all of Hugels' wines is high and increasingly better. The product line "Tradition" is made from grapes from their vineyards and are always fine wines with character and depth. The price is also very reasonable in relation to the high quality.

2008 Pinot Gris Tradition from Hugel in Riquewihr offers a fresh, smokey aroma with ripe apricot, almonds and melons. Relatively dry, supple taste with a very fine mid-palate and absolutely clean finish. A superb effort with a perfect definition. The 2008 vintage, 1/3 of the wine went through malo-lactic. Price: €12.60

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Spiegel, Dirler-Cadé


Alsace wines of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer need 5-7 years of storage before they enter the maturation phase, which lasts at least 20 years, and often up to 50 years. When white wines from New World, and sadly, even many expensive Burgundy from the 1990s and later, fall into pieces even "simple" Alsace wines just keep getting better with age, especially if they come from glorious producers such as Dirler-Cadé.

2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Spiegel from Dirler-Cadé in Bergholtz is reddish yellow, with a complex aroma of orange, vanilla, ginger and maturation tones of leather. The taste is homogeneous, fresh and spicy with a refreshing acidity and a sweetness that begins to mellow and never takes over. The wine has almost no bitterness and is therefore perfect for a not-too-mature Munster Gerome. Price: € 15.