Nomadic Wines

1988 Hugel et Fils Pinot Noir Jubilee - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC (12/30/2006)
Not sure if I am capturing the name of this wine correctly. It is labeled Pinot Noir "Hugel" and then under that it says Réserve Personelle.
Anyway, a surprising little beauty. It is bottled in the tall bottles used for Alsatian white varietals. The nose is not terribly expressive, though it may have been masked by that old cork smell. The wine had creeped all the way to the top of the cork, which suggests storage issues... though I am pretty sure it has been resting peacefully till in my possession. The nose had some cherry notes which followed through in the mouth. The palate also had some forest floor and earthiness to counter the cherry. This wine has enough body to stand up to cheese, along with elegance of aged Pinot.
I think there are a few more bottles in the cellar that I will try.

Based on some posts on the eRobertParker Mark Squires bulletin board, I have learned that the Réserve Personelle is from a single vineyard planted in 1966 and acquired by Hugel in 1985. This parcel is the source for the "Les Neveux" cuvée, only produced in 1990 and 2003. It is usually included in the Jubilée cuvée, but in the good years they produced a "Réserve Personnelle" wine from this vineyard.

I am interested in trying other Alsatian Pinot Noirs - my experience has been that they lack the ripeness of US Pinot or the acidity/verve of Burgundy. This makes me want to explore.

Labels: Alsace, France, Pinot Noir, wine

posted by nomadfromcincy @ 1:59 PM