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Hugel & Fils Winery Guide

Winery Overview

The Hugel family are quite possibly the most influential winemakers in the Alsace region today. 13 generations of this remarkable dynasty have been inexorably linked with the region’s development and prosperity; patriarch Jean Hugel was instrumental in creating the guidelines for late-harvest and botrytis sweet wine production in Alsace in the 1980s. Indeed, Jean was a powerful and influential figure in an influential family: wine writer Tom Stevenson described Jean Hugel as “the single most important person in the development of Alsace’s wine industry throughout the 20th century.”

The first member of the Hugel family to settle in Alsace was Swiss national Hans Ulrich Hugel, who arrived during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) and decided to make a new life in the region. Settling in the town of Riquewihr – today one of Alsace’s prettiest – he soon integrated himself into the town’s community. In 1939 Hugel was made a freeman of the city and soon took charge of the significant Corporation of Winegrowers. The origins of the company’s logo date back to this period: in 1672, Hugel’s son built a grand townhouse in the street of Rue des Cordiers, which bore a family crest still in use today.

Over the centuries, Hugel’s winemaking operation continued to prosper, despite the numerous wars and conflicts that ravaged Europe from the 18th to the 20th centuries. By the early 20th century, the current owner, Frédéric Emile Hugel, decided it was time for a shakeup. He left the old family property and established new premises in the center of Riquewihr, which still forms the heart of the family business. Nevertheless, there were tough times ahead. Phylloxera and the 1st World War devastated the region of Alsace. The conflict destroyed many of the vineyard sites, yet Frédéric Hugel refused to give up. Battling on, he fought to save what was left of Alsace’s viticultural heritage and worked with a group of farsighted winemakers to drag the region back into the light. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles returned the region to French control so they could rebuild their livelihoods.

Frédéric Hugel’s son and grandson, both named Jean, were no less the pioneers. Grandson Jean Hugel’s expertise was vital to establishing a superior designation for Alsace wines – Alsace Grand Cru – in the 1970s. The intrepid winemaker trampled all over Alsace’s soil with a geologist for three years, examining where the vineyard boundaries should go and that crucial separation point between spectacular, good, and ordinary. The designation has been updated three times: in 1983, 1992, and 2007 the list of Grand Cru vineyards was expanded. Among them is Schonenbourg, a hillside vineyard that is today responsible for producing some of Alsace’s finest Riesling.

In 2015, Hugel achieved yet another milestone. The launch of the single-vineyard Riesling “Schoelhammer” caused quite a stir in wine circles; 30 rows of vines at the heart of the Schonenbourg hillside are responsible for producing a Riesling that almost defies words. Only 4,288 bottles were made of this spectacular wine, a Riesling with an incredible structure, pervasiveness, and mineral tension. A wine that delivers pleasure now but begs to be cellared to allow the full complexity to reveal itself.

This is the quintessential hallmark of Hugel’s range of wines. On the one hand, structured, mineral, and dry, they also boast a lovely ‘come-hither’ quality, balanced by purity and concentration of fruit expression rarely seen, even in Alsace. Cultivating the highly sought-after “Schoelhammer” vineyard has given this family unparalleled insights into producing world-class Riesling. At the same time, the whole portfolio – including a beautifully scented Pinot Noir – continues to shine. However, Riesling is the real reason why sommeliers and critics salivate over Hugel’s latest releases. Hugel arguably makes the finest white wine in Alsace – many would say the world.

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Author

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James lawrence

With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has been writing for a wide variety of publications for over 12 years, including Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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