Hugel was established in 1639 by Hans Ulrich Hugelin, although the family have been present in Alsace for perhaps two centuries before that. Hans Ulrich became a prominent figure in Riquewihr, where he settled, and was soon head of the influential Corporation des Vignerons. The business was quickly established; by 1672 Hans Ulrich''s son built a fine house on the rue des Cordiers, which the family still used until Frédéric-Emile Hugel vacated it in 1902, moving the business to the heart of Riquewihr. Above the door was carved the family crest, which is the basis for the Hugel bottle logo; it features three hills (Hugel means ''hill'' in a local dialect) and the letters HUH for Hans Ulrich.
Hans Ulrich and his son were the first and second generations, but today we should concern ourselves with the twelfth and thirteenth. The former is Jean Hugel, and although the Hugel family has contributed much to Alsace and its wines Jean surely deserves a specific mention. One of Jean Hugel''s greatest contributions was fostering the vendange tardive style. Late harvest wines have been produced at Hugel for over a century, as evidenced by the presence of ancient vintages in the family cellars. But Jean pressed for legal requirements to be applied to this style of wine, to ensure quality was maintained, with the use of Chaptalisation a problem of particular concern, among others. After over a decade of work, Jean submitted The Hugel Law to the necessary authorities, of which there were many; the INAO, CRINAO, the French Ministry of Agriculture and the appropriate officials in Brussels. The law was passed without amendment to Jean''s text, and the result was a massive upsurge in the numbers of vignerons producing these wines. And although some now excel, none seem to dominate in the way that Hugel does, producing superlative vendange tardive Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris, as well as superior selection de grains nobles. Notably, wines eligible for these designations must pass a blind taste test at least fifteen months after harvest; wines deemed unsuitable (and there are many) do not win the right to declare this classification on the label.
Today Jean has passed the mantle onto Etienne, Marc and other members of the thirteenth generation. They are difficult shoes to fill, but having met Etienne recently at a Hugel tasting dinner, I think he is doing just fine. Marc Hugel is now winemaker, and here it seems quality at the upper end has been maintained, and if anything improved at the lower end. The new generation are forward-looking, and Etienne told me they have even moved to bottle a few experimental wines under screw-cap, although they have no firm plans to ditch cork at present. They will maintain the well delineated range at Hugel; there has always been a clear and obvious step up in quality as you move up the ranks. The entry level wines are generally the generic ''Hugel'' bottlings; these are négoce wines, made using fruit from more than 300 contracted growers who tend over 100 ha of vineyard. If there was a weakness in the Hugel portfolio it was here, but on recent tasting it was clear there has been a great improvement; these were classic examples of the varieties in question. Then comes the Tradition range, which is often a blend of purchased fruit and some estate-grown fruit. The pinnacle of the dry wines is the Jubilee range, always made from the Hugel''s own vineyards. These include Hugel''s two Grand Cru sites; Sporen (a decent 8 hectares) and Schoenenbourg (3.8 hectares). You will not find the Grand Cru designation on the labels, however, as Jean Hugel found too much fault with the system. He, like some other Alsace vignerons, felt that the classified vineyards had boundaries too extensive, and included a variety of soil types, which significantly devalued the designation.
Between the dry wines and the sweet are the ''Hommage a Jean Hugel'' range; wines with VT levels of ripeness but vinified dry, produced only in great years. But, as discussed above, it is with the Vendange Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles. that we see true greatness at Hugel. Here they lead - jointly, perhaps - the field. (13/10/04)
Contact details:
Address: 3 rue de la Première Armée, 68640 Riquewihr
Telephone: +33 (0) 3 89 47 92 15
Fax: +33 (0) 3 89 49 00 10
Internet: www.hugel.com
