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Dinner with Etienne Hugel

"I hope to change your opinion of our basic wines.", said Etienne Hugel as he leaned over to me. Yes, the techno-competent Etienne had been reading The Winedoctor, and was aware of my opinion of the Hugel négoce wines. And now he was in town in order to show his most recent vintages. And if the thought of spending a relaxing evening sipping Hugel wines wasn't sufficiently tempting (which it should be), the fact that they were to be paired with the cuisine of Paul Askew, chef patron at The London Carriage Works, should clinch the deal.

Being seated on Etienne's table gave me a perfect opportunity to quiz him on the latest gossip at Hugel, and I'll put all that information was put to good use in my updated Hugel profile. But Etienne wasn't there just to entertain me; there were dozens of guests treated to Etienne's clever wit and skilful use of the English language in generating some humour as he talked the crowd through the wines. Etienne's uncle, Jean Hugel (known to many as Johnny), was also a bit of a showman, and a tremendously influential figure in Alsace. Etienne has a similar phenotype, and had no difficulty in holding the audience's attention.

The evening started in a relaxed manner, with sustenance in the form of delicate yet very tasty canapés - including a delightful fish mousse and some good olive tapenade, and a selection of charcuterie. Background music was provided in the form of Les Fleurs d'Alsace 2003, and at this point I was also introduced to two other guests of the Hope Street Hotel - no, not James Nesbitt and Michael Owen - rather Nicolas Jaboulet of Paul Jaboulet Aîné and Matieu Buval of Maison Joseph Drouhin. Nicolas and Matieu were in town with a selection of wines, like Etienne, for a trade tasting the following day, and it was only natural that they should saunter down to partake of some of the hors d'oeuvres. Before long, however, we moved upstairs for the main event.

We started with a spiced and delightfully textured ballotine of foie gras with a red grape and Pinot Noir marmalade - this was fabulously tasty - served with pain paysan and wild rocket. Accompanying this was a very competent Pinot Gris Jubilee 1998. The ensuing course was a pan seared halibut with a good, firm texture, with powerful flavours on the side in the form of a chilli and lime marmalade. It was matched with Hugel's generic 2001 Riesling, which, although a perfectly correct négoce wine and quite classic in its own right, struggled with the flavour and sweetness offered by the marmalade. Both food and wine were fine individually, but not a harmonious match. The same cannot be said of the next course, however, a delightfully fresh twist on Alsatian Choucroute. This was Asian Choucroute; a platter of red roast pork belly (delicious), tenderloin of pork and a small handmade sausage, served in a cabbage (a vital ingredient) and vegetable nage. This had an effusive Etienne, all too used to pale imitations of this classic Alsatian dish, in apparent rapture. It worked well with Etienne's own personal project, Pinot Noir, in this case the Jubilee Pinot Noir 2000. Although I noted at this time that Etienne had several more glasses of wine - including another red - gathered around him at the table; it transpired that Buval and Jaboulet had sent Etienne a glass each of their own wines over from the bar, a gesture which obviously delighted him!

And so onto the final two courses. A marinated crotin of goat's cheese, served with a fig and walnut jam, was absolutely fine, and it worked well with Hugel's Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive 1996. Our final wine, the Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 2000, had a more difficult task; it was matched with a chef's assiette, including a savarin of raspberries with fromage blanc (beautiful, piercing flavour from the berries here), a tart tatin (brilliant individual tarts) and a lemon curd parfait with black pepper cherries (simply delightful - great intensity of flavour). Nevertheless, the Gewurztraminer faired well; I suspect its naturally low acidity allowed it to succumb to the flavours and textures of each dessert, or perhaps my judgement was not so sharp by this time in the evening. I had much to say about these last two wines, vendange tardive being one of Alsace's greatest treasures. As I debated the wines with my dining companions, I noted Etienne to be nodding in agreement. It is notable that the confidence in one's own palate can waver somewhat when tasting and discussing the wines in front of the winemaker. Fortunately, these wines were all of high quality, and I had no difficulty in awarding them due praise.

The end of the meal wasn't the end of the evening, of course, and afterwards I enjoyed chatting with Paul Askew about the dishes he, Matt Locke, Simon Holmes and the rest of the team had produced for us, and also with Etienne Hugel, and with David Large of Dreyfuss Ashby who had been a linchpin in organising the event. They all deserve some credit. But that's enough from me; here I shall draw my account of the dinner to a close. The tasting notes for Etienne Hugel's wines follow. Tomorrow I will post an updated Hugel profile, together with tasting notes for all their most recent releases. (12/10/04)

Dinner with Etienne Hugel - Tasting Notes

Tasted in September 2004. Click to locate stockists:

Hugel Les Fleurs d'Alsace 2003: An Edelzwicker blend. Tropical fruit notes from the Pinot Gris. Good, fresh acidity on the palate. Exotic fruit notes. A good foil for the canapés. 15/20

Hugel Pinot Gris Jubilee 1998: Very typical Pinot Gris on the nose. Fresh, exotic, sweetly ripe fruit. Full, concentrated dry palate. Good acidity showing. Excellent match with spiced ballotine of foie gras. 16.5/20

Hugel Riesling 'Hugel' 2001: Very classic Riesling; steely lime aromas on the nose. Very dry palate with a similar fruit profile. Medium body. Fine in itself but paled in the shadow of the lime and chilli marmalade; there are few wines that wouldn't. 15.5/20

Hugel Pinot Noir Jubilee 2000: Etienne's personal project. Good colour. Peppery black cherry and a note of wood on the nose. Notes of chocolate on the palate. Overall lean but fresh and flavoury. Nice peppery acidity. Good. 15.5/20

Hugel Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive 1996: Fabulous nose here; expressive, full of sweet tropical fruit and notes of bacon. Fat, sweet and balanced palate. Complex nuances of vanilla and white pepper alongside the fruit. Lovely. 18/20

Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 2000: A very heady, perfumed, rose-petal and lychee nose, very remiscent of the sweetness of Turkish Delight. Very typical Gewurztraminer. Fat palate, low in acidity, a feature of this variety. Very good. 17/20