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the great of the global wine trade, to won’t find any residual sugar in our Johnny Hugel individual consumers he spoke to only wines.” To cut a long story short, after I once. Almost everyone he met has a had finished at Schlumberger, I went (1924–2009) story to tell, but the one person he over to Johnny and asked, “So where is opened up to was Nick Clarke MW, this dry , then?” He poured a by Tom Stevenson who had long imported Hugel wines. shot, and after a quick swirl around the Anyone who knows Nick Clarke will mouth I exclaimed, “But this is sweet, I first met Johnny Hugel over 20 years understand why Johnny could tell him Johnny!” He looked at me in disbelief, ago while researching The Wines of stories about his war years for the first then checked the label and declared Alsace. Having tasted with him earlier time in 60 years. Johnny was like so with a big grin, “Ah! That explains it. in the week, Johnny invited my wife and many of his generation who had to face I thought we were showing the 1999, me to Sunday lunch with his family at horrors that few could speak about. but this is 1997. A very ripe vintage. All their home. When we arrived, two The only way to survive and remain our dry wines were sweet that year!” elderly women were knitting in the sane was through a humor that made corner; his mother and, I think, an aunt. light of their terrible predicament, and Legal legacy: VT and SGN Just as we were leaving, they finished one of the things that Johnny and Nick I was quoted by Decanter.com as saying knitting and insisted on giving my wife shared was a wicked sense of humor. that “Johnny Hugel was the single most the result: a tiny baby’s jacket! At the I would like to extend my gratitude to important person in the development time we wondered whether she knew Nick for revealing this side of Johnny’s of the industry throughout something we did not, but sadly this was life. Too much is lost because we do the 20th century.” How true that is. not to be, and we still have the little not ask questions when we have the Alsace is in enough of a mess as it is, jacket to this day. From stranger to a opportunity, then one day it’s too late. but it would be in much deeper trouble guest at the family table, receiving the I have many memories of the great if not for Johnny Hugel. He was one of most personal of gifts, all in a matter man, but the one that is just so typical two or three people responsible for of a few days. Such was the warmth and of Johnny took place at Le Gavroche establishing the post-war reputation generosity of Johnny Hugel and the restaurant in London in 2001. He had of Alsace wines on the international family from which he came. retired, supposedly, in 1997, when his market. For those of us weaned on I don’t know anyone who ever met nephews Etienne, Jean-Philippe, and Alsace wines in the 1970s or earlier, Johnny Hugel who did not instantly Marc became the 13th generation to run we knew Hugel, Trimbach, and maybe have a genuine and long-lasting the company, but that did not stop him Beyer. If we dug a bit deeper, we affection for the man. He spoke to all of going to work every day. His retirement discovered Schlumberger, Dopff, or us in exactly the same way, with an was announced again in 1998, and his Kuentz-Bas, but that was essentially it. enthusiasm that seemed to catch his nephews even created a cuvée to mark This was the time when Alsace was breath as the words burst out. He was the event, Homage à Jean Hugel, but the wine trade’s best-kept secret, larger than life, with so much humor still Johnny did not take the hint. when merchants knowingly ordered and personality that it was impossible And here he was, four years into his far more wine than they could sell, to imagine his presence could ever retirement, representing Hugel at a and were happy to do so because disappear. He was indestructible, or so Maisons d’Alsace tasting in London. they looked forward to drinking it! we thought, until just before 8pm on I was tasting at the Schlumberger table Never was the reputation of Alsace Tuesday June 9, 2009, when he slipped when Johnny spotted me. He came higher, albeit among a tiny elite. away with Simone, his loving wife, by over flourishing an open bottle of Johnny Hugel was one of the his side. He left two adopted daughters, Gewurztraminer, sloshing a bit to his most vocal guardians of that post-war Dominique and Judith, and four left and to his right in the process, reputation, an achievement he shared grandchildren, on whom he doted, apologizing to those in his wake, and with the likes of Hubert Trimbach and taking them to the vineyards to see the cheekily tried to pour a glass in front of Marc Beyer. But what elevated him to tractors as often as he could. Eveline Schlumberger. You just do not “the single most important person Johnny may no longer be with us, do that sort of thing, but Johnny did and in the development of the Alsace wine but he has left so many people such he was about the only person who could industry throughout the 20th century,” happy, sometimes hilariously happy, get away with it. I quickly covered the was the role he played in establishing memories that he will never be top of my glass, explaining that I was the legislation for Vendange Tardive, forgotten. He will not simply be methodically tasting dry wines first, SGN, and Alsace grands crus. Today’s remembered, he will be fondly starting with Riesling, and going from poor, downtrodden Alsace aficionados remembered. Look at the tributes that producer to producer. He said, “If you might find this hard to grasp. After all, started to pour in after only a few hours want to taste dry Riesling, come over to isn’t the root of this region’s problems of Etienne Hugel setting up a blog at the Hugel table. Apart from Vendange inextricably linked to the increasing hugel.com and you will see that Johnny Tardive and SGN [Sélection de Grains sweetness of its wines and the tarnished touched everyone, from the good and Nobles], we make only dry wines. You image of its grand cru system? Well, yes,

24 THE WORLD OF FINE WINE ISSUE 25 2009 but without Johnny’s commonsense contribution to these two controversial matters, the destination of Alsace would be a one-way road to the land of cru classé, medium-sweet mediocrity. The problem with sweetness in Alsace has nothing to do with its small number of late-harvest gems, and everything to do with the increasing amount of sweetness that has crept into wines that loyal Alsace customers could once confidently anticipate to be dry to one degree or another. If and when the majority of Alsace producers realize just how difficult it will become to survive on a reputation for not just residual sugar, but for erratic and unpredictable levels of residual sugar, then they might come to understand the wisdom of restricting production to the designations devised by Johnny there was Robert Marocke, the eminent original 20ha to be on the generous Hugel. He conceived Vendange Tardive geological expert and co-author of side, and soon joked about the Hanging and SGN as the French equivalents of Terroirs et Vins d’Alsace. At that time, Gardens of Kientzheim, in which the Spätlese and or , Johnny believed that a grand cru system vines are planted on top of each other. and forced through the toughest wine was inevitable. How could he not? As a Alsace might have too many grands legislation in France to guarantee their believer in terroir and an inhabitant of crus that are not true grands crus, and quality. As highly desirable niche one of the most terroir-complex regions, boundaries that are so bloated from products they could live hand in glove he knew certain individual sites were their historic roots that they are a farce. with the traditional dry-wine image of viticulturally superior to others, thus But following the stand of Johnny Hugel Alsace, but flooding the market with there had to be a collection of the crème and his committee, even the generous cheaper sweet wines has not only de la crème that were, unquestionably, new committee felt constrained to devalued their specialness, it has also the greatest of all. But when no fewer classify only 25 of the 94 proffered sites destroyed the image of Alsace as a than 94 lieux-dits were proffered by the as grands crus in 1982. The growers traditionally dry wine region. If Alsace growers in 1975 for consideration as flexed their muscles, and another 23 producers come to their senses and potential grands crus, Johnny was grands crus were announced in 1985. steer back most wines to the land of shocked. He had not heard of half of But aware of Schlossberg’s much the genuinely dry, they will be grateful them! He reckoned the only way to get criticized size, the new committee to Johnny Hugel’s legal legacy ring- things right was to be in the middle of it, took nearly ten years to delimit their fencing Vendange Tardive and SGN arguing his case, but after three years boundaries. So Alsace’s much maligned for what they are: rare and special. he realized the impossibility of the grands crus could be a lot worse, but task and resigned. Later in his life, he for Johnny Hugel. Grand cru contribution claimed he was sacked, but resigned or Although theoretically retired since Johnny’s contribution to the Alsace sacked, the last straw for Johnny was 1997, Johnny did not stop working grand cru system is often overlooked. Schlossberg. This was the first grand cru until ordered to do so by his doctor in Both Hugel and Trimbach are widely to be delimited, and Johnny’s committee February this year. He still insisted on known to oppose the grands crus, classified 20ha (50 acres) as Grand Cru driving himself for blood tests every yet both used the term grand cru on Schlossberg. But growers outside this couple of days in his Hugel-yellow their labels in the past. Furthermore, area also wanted to be included; and if Peugeot. Even on March 11, the day he Johnny Hugel was president of the first they were accepted, then there would had to be rushed to intensive care, he commission to advise INAO on grands be an almost endless line of growers agreed to be interviewed by a French crus. So how and why did he jump waiting to make their case. The queue author. According to his will, Johnny’s horses? The committee he presided of growers refused to accept the ashes will be scattered over the over between 1975 and 1978 was the committee’s decision until it was Schoenenbourg. Why does this not most prestigious and expert body to disbanded, and to no one’s surprise surprise me? Because he was always contemplate the concept of Alsace the replacement committee managed saying that “cemeteries are full of people grands crus. In addition to Johnny and to find 80ha (198 acres) for Grand Cru who thought they were irreplaceable.”

Photography courtesy of Hugel courtesy Photography two extremely knowledgable growers, Schlossberg. Johnny Hugel thought the Well, that’s one thing he got wrong.

ISSUE 25 2009 THE WORLD OF FINE WINE 25