Hugel et Fils tasting
Cornerstone Wines, Robertson Walk
Tasted Wednesday, February 4, 2009 by Paul S with 530 views
Introduction
I think the best word to describe this tasting would be "underwhelming". None of the wines were bad, standard was pretty decent, but there were no truly outstanding ones. The only one that I would rebuy if the price was good would be the 2001 Geuwrz VT. Good thing we popped a nice Burg after that, courtesy of Alicia - thanks Alicia!
2004 Hugel Riesling Jubilee 88 Points
France, Alsace
Very ordinary. Nothing wrong, but nothing really outstanding either. Chalk, white fruit and a touch of nectar on the nose. Palate had a strong seam of mineral, with high, almost tart acidity. There was some indistinct white fruit on the attack, but I thought the wine went a little watery after the mid-palate, before settling into an okay finish with more of the snappy acidity.
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1998 Hugel Riesling Jubilee 89 Points
France, Alsace
Some oxidation was showing on the nose, but otherwise, I though this wine to was showing better than the 2004 we had alongside. It was certainly more complex and showed a better balance. The nose was just a little muted, with oxidative elements brooding over more classic scents of petrol and a toss of earth. Some savoury bits were floating in and out of the wine. Much better on the palate, with decent balance, with high acid wed to dried flowers, minerals and, moving into the gently tapering finish, touches of lemon pip. Not a profound wine, but not half bad.
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2004 Hugel Gewurztraminer Jubilee 89 Points
France, Alsace
I enjoyed this. Again, not a profound wine, but a very classic expression of Gewurz, with tons of varietal typicity. Nose showed lychees buttressed with a touch of chalky mineral, white flower and a layering of earth. The palate just about screamed lychee! Very reminiscent of the syrup water that one finds in canned lychees. Again, some mineral and sweet nectar flavours, good freshness too. All very pretty and very pleasant. The wine was just rather letdown by a wash of heat towards the shortish finish.
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2001 Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 92 Points
France, Alsace
Far and away the best wine of the tasting. Lovely, complex nose, full of dense button mushroom and lychee creme tones, all nicely integrated with a touch of earth. Lovely balance on the palate, with more lychee creme gliding across the mouth on a bed of fresh acidity as the wine moved into a long, minerally finish with more sticky lychees and the lightest kiss of flowers. Not too complex on the palate, but a very nice wine.
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2002 Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 90 Points
France, Alsace
Not bad, but paled in comparison to the 2001 VT. A bit of funky, wet earth notes on the nose at the start, which blew off as the wine opened up to show white flowers and some lychee creme. This was positively muted when put next to the more expressive 2001 though. Sticky texture on the palate, which showed gentle lychee flavours and some mineral. Very underwhelming for a VT though, pleasant but almost characterless, with the mid-palate having a slight watery hole. The finish more or less saved the wine for me, nice and lengthy, it showed an interesting mineral seam as the wine stretched out towards the end.
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