Description
The rather unassuming pale lemon coloured wine belies all that awaits one on the nose and palate! This is a perfect lesson in understated and yet beautifully precise wine making. The nose is smoky, with hints of wet pebble and a mineralite and a touch of lime juice, lemon grass.
The palate is what I would refer to as politely austere, at one moment tightly packed and iron like, white stone fruit and yet with a poise and precision that only comes from one of the best terroir in the world. The laser like acidity enable the length goes on for a long time with a beautiful seam of salinity. This is a long term wine and will be truly spectacular. 2025 2035+
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager
The Trimbach family is one of Frances greatest winemaking dynasties, having made wine in Alsace for over three centuries (since 1626) based in the picturesque town of Ribeauvill.
If Zind Humbrecht produces wines of extravagant power at one end of the spectrum of excellence within Alsace wine making, then Trimbach definitely stands at the other extreme Restraint is the watchword. The Trimbach style is paraphrased perfectly by Hubert Trimbach and the family itself Concentrated not heavy; fruity, not sweet; bracing rather than fat; polite rather than voluptuous. Trimbach wines are reserved, steely, elegant, even aristocratic; never obvious or flashy. We are Protestants. Our wines have the Protestant style vigour, firmness, a beautiful acidity, lovely freshness. Purity and cleanness, thats Trimbach. For those weary of the copious residual sugar found in so many of the contemporary Alsace wines, Trimbachs are a refuge.
As the family moves into its 13th generation, with Pierres daughter Anne now working in the business (& Jeans son Julian studying vine science at Dijon), Maison Trimbach remains a byword for fine dry Alsace Riesling.
Famously controversial for opting out of the Grand Cru classification back in 1975 on account of the overly generous yields & low sugar levels (low quality) required, in the past five years the negociant has added 15 hectares of prime Grand Cru sites, notably in Osterberg, Geisberg, & Schlossberg, bringing their total to 45ha. So the family are clearly not closing the door on the possibility of releasing single Grand Cru vineyard wines, albeit in tiny quantities. However they lament the fact that Frances supermarkets continue to buy up 75% of the regions production, selling Grand Cru wines at around 7/bottle on the shelf.
Meanwhile their brands of (Riesling) Cuvee Frederic Emile, (Pinot Gris) Reserve Personnelle & (Gewurztraminer) Cuvee des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre remain central to the range, made from both own fruit & bought in fruit; they remain a clear step up in terroir finesse from the fruitier Reserve lines. Clos Ste. Hune is estates finest Riesling, from a 1.67ha clos within Grand Cru Rosacker; the provenance readily communicated but still absent from the label. So as winemaker Pierre Trimbach signs off his 34th vintage in charge, this is still very much an estate to watch.
These wines are considered the benchmark for quality, consistency and style.
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