January 15, 2020 - All Alsatian white grapes in a glass. Tropical fruits and apricot aromas and flavors. Hint of lemon zest. Loads of minerality and crisp acidity. Good stuff.
October 9, 2019 - Stone fruit, nectarine, citrusy...big fruity orchard nose. Quick acidic zing that lingers with lemon pith, melon. Not complex but a nice clean versatile white.
July 18, 2019 - For a region that’s so focused on single-varietal wines, and so keen to highlight their numerous Grand Crus, Hugel’s “Gentil” is an anomaly. A blend of the noble varieties — usually Riesling-dominant with Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Muscat and Sylvaner — the estate ventured away from the norm. It’s meant to be fresh and consumed young — easy, simple, and pleasurable. But don’t think the house is dialing it in; Charlotte Hugel, the 13th generation, explains, “Grand Crus are easy, it’s the entry-level wines that are difficult to find consistency.” Ins_de Wine 7/2019
April 16, 2019 - Very pale straw. Stone fruit, nectarine, citrusy...big fruity orchard nose. Quick acidic zing that lingers with lemon pith, unripe melon, green apple peel. Not complex or intellectual but a nice clean versatile white.
March 5, 2019 - Light, pale color. Dry. Apple, pear. Lemon. This blend seems similar to a Riesling, though it is half Sylvaner, probably explaining why it seems “generic”.
May 9, 2018 - The only blend offered by this producer (billed as “all the Alsace grapes in one bottle”: 6 (is it actually 7?). High acidity, bone dry, and high fidelity reflections of the component grapes somehow all blinking through the blend. Bright, rather ripe fruits (peach, apricot, pear, yellow apple, kumquat, rambutan, navel orange, tangerine), fresh cheese curd, sour neon gummy worms, blackboards, old tennis balls, jasmine, white daisies, Epsom salts. Light-footed, graceful, yet robust in flavour.
April 5, 2018 - Rich and ripe melon and pear. Balanced acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and a long finish.
February 20, 2018 - Always reliably tasty standalone or with food and, because of the 5 grape blend, this always has an extra gear for its price point. Refreshing mix of citrus, stone fruit and stoniness that is off dry but still flavorful. Easy weak night open at $12 and change.
December 4, 2017 - God till lax eller räkor.
December 2, 2017 - I agree with Baron Slick that it is very easy to drink an entire bottle of this wine at one sitting. My wife and I usually make a bottle of wine last two nights, but not this one. In the course of an evening we drank the entire bottle. What a lovely wine -- not too sweet, not to dry -- just delightful, fruity, easy to drink with the classic Alsatian flavor profile. We have never tried the Gentil grape blend before -- drinking mostly Alsatian Riesling. According to the Hugel web site, Gentil is a blend of Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Muscat and Sylvaner sourced from a variety of sites and growers. The blend is delicious at a very approachable price. But be careful -- you will find the entire bottle gone in a very short period of time!