When I wrote and published my blog post # 6 on February 19, 2016 I indicated in that post, which was a review of the New Years tasting we did of Hugel’s 1976 Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive SGN, that I would write an upcoming future post about our 1986 visit with Jean Hugel as it would tell a wonderful personal story about Jean Hugel, who passed away in June 2009. Little did I know at the time that this post would also be a tribute to his nephew Etienne, who passed away suddenly at age 57 just 4 weeks ago on April 9th, 2016.
Jean Hugel lived a life full of passion for his wine. He was both an ambassador for Alsace wines around the globe, and a tireless promoter of his beloved Hugel wines. Under Jean’s capable management Hugel wines grew to become internationally known and acclaimed. When our family visited Hugel’s winery in September 1986, it was harvest time and predictably the busiest time of the year for every winemaker.
We were a family of seven, and we had booked an appointment to meet with Jean at the winery weeks in advance. My Dad was an executive of Hilton Canada, so being in the hospitality trade, and the food and beverage industry, it certainly helped getting those hard to book appointments with Hugel and others at their busiest time of year.
On the day of our visit, Jean greeted us with open arms, much as he would greet long time friends. He personally toured us through the winery itself, telling stories all the while. He was a walking history book about all matters Hugel. His detailed description of his beloved Fut 27, the 8,800 liter cask pictured in the photos below, explained in great detail the 350 history of both the cask and the winery.
You can see both his passion and devotion for all things Hugel captured in these photos as he captivates us with his stories and his passion. Even those of us among our family group who were not as passionate about wine as I was, were enthralled by his personality and charisma. He was a “tour de force” and someone you could not help but admire.
As we went to the tasting room, Jean opened up bottle after bottle to sample, starting with the simplest wines and building to his late harvest Vendange Tardive wines, and his specialty dessert wines, the Selection de Grains Nobles. When we tasted his SGN wines at the end, I told Jean these were what I had come to taste more than anything else. I already owned a couple of bottles of the 1976 Gewurztraminer SGN but had never tasted the wine.
Jean not only served us the 1976 Gewurztraminer SGN, but also the Riesling and the Pinot Gris, both of which I did not know even existed. These wines were absolutely stunning, and by Jean’s own words the 1976 vintage of all three varieties were the best SGN wines of the century at that point, and would all last another 50 years in the bottle. That means according to Jean Hugel those wines should still be good in the year 2036. On January 1, 2016 when last tasted, I rated the 1976 Gewurztraminer SGN at 94 points and forecast that the wine should still be good in 2030. So Jean was right, probably the wines of the century for Hugel.
As our tasting at Hugel’s drew to a close I asked Jean if I could buy a couple of each of the three 1976 SGN wines from him to take home with us. Much to my surprise and dismay, Jean said no he could not sell me the wines. I was very surprised, but being very passionate about collecting those wines, I got into a prolonged discussion with him about why he could not sell me the wines.
Jean could tell by my enthusiasm and persistence that I was just as passionate about owning those wines as he was about making them and selling them. Jean told me his wine sales direct from the winery were strictly regulated and audited, and restricted to only promotional samples to wine wholesalers (negotiants) or others directly in the trade. After much question and answer, sparring back and forth, that must have gone on for 10 minutes or longer, it became obvious to me that the answer was a firm “no”, and that I was not going to be allowed to buy these magnificent wines. By now 5 of our 7 family members had left the room, not wanting to watch this debate drag out any longer. My expression changed to disappointment as I reluctantly accepted the fact that I was not going to be able to buy these wines. There was nothing more to do at this point but to thank Jean for his hospitality and the chance to taste such wonderful wines. In the presence of my Dad, we shook hands and I thanked Jean, but my disappointment still showed.
As he was shaking my hand, Jean said to me “I am not allowed to sell you these wines, but nothing prevents me from giving them to you. So I am pleased to give you two bottles each of the three 1976 SGN wines (Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris) as my gift to you.” I was shocked at first, and after a couple of awkward moments trying to process what had just happened, the smile of pure joy that came across my face must have said it all, and given Jean a strong sense of satisfaction. Jean also gave my Dad a couple of bottles of the Riesling Vendange Tardive wine that he particularly liked. After another 10 minutes of conversation and expressions of profound thanks and appreciation, we left. To this day I have never forgotten that event. Jean did not have to gift anything to us, but he did, and as far as I could tell he did so because he was passionate about his wine, and because he could see that I too was passionate about his wine.
Jean was right again of course, I will never forget that gesture of generosity on his part. I never would have guessed at the time in 1986 that 30 years later I would start a wine blog to write about my favourite hobby, so it gives me great pleasure to be able to devote a blog post to Jean and the entire Hugel family. In some small way to be able to give back or recognize their passion and devotion to the wine industry is the least I can do.
For those of you who do not know, Jean Hugel was responsible for the introduction of INAO regulations governing Vendange Tardives and Selection de Grains Nobles Alsacian wines. The law was drafted and proposed in 1977, and finally passed into law in 1984. This law, aimed at maintaining quality standards for these late harvest wines, requires a blind tasting test be passed before any such wine can legally be sold.
When I was researching Hugel’s website (www.hugel.com) before writing my February Post # 6, it was not long before I had questions and entered into email correspondence with Etienne Hugel. Etienne responded to me immediately, he was very informative, cooperative, and hospitable. He issued me a written and standing invitation to visit Hugel’s winery again to revisit those marvellous Hugel SGN wines. I could tell instantly that Etienne shared that same passion and love for their Hugel wines as Jean had for so many years. Etienne joined the Hugel team in 1982 at 23 years of age, and worked tirelessly for 34 years until his untimely and tragic passing last month. Etienne was in charge of international sales and marketing, so he traveled widely and often. Hugel wines are now exported to over 100 countries around the world. Although the family has not disclosed what caused Etienne to pass away suddenly on April 9th at 57 years of age, I suspect it may have had something to do with his difficult travel schedule.
The Hugel family have been producing wine in Alsace since 1639, so 13 generations of the Hugel family have been making great wine for 377 years. Their passion and dedication to the family business is clearly evident. They are also admired and respected for their contributions to the industry itself as ambassadors, leaders and trend setters of the future.
To Jean and Etienne Hugel, bravo and well done, gone but not forgotten.
Cheers,
Reg.
