Introduction
For almost four centuries, the Trimbach Family has been promoting Alsace and its history, terroirs and fine wines. Maison Trimbach is still located in Ribeauvillé and still owned by the two grandsons of Frédéric Théodore, Bernard and Hubert, since their father’s untimely death in 1945.
Trimbach wine first acquired international acclaim in 1898, when Frédéric Emile Trimbach received the highest distinction at the International Wine Fair in Brussels. His name is on the label of the domain's flagship Riesling, the consistently delicious Cuvée Frederic Emile, which is justifiably prized by connoisseurs and collectors and was one of several wines I tasted on my most recent visit to the estate on Monday, 5 October, with #winelover founder Luiz Alberto.
Vines from the south and south-east facing Ribeauvillé terroirs Geisberg and Osterberg - both grand crus - are the source for this excellent wine. The average age of the vines, 45 years, results in limited yields. The marl-limestone-sandstone and fossil-flecked Muschelkalk soils, and carefully selected ripe grapes, lead to a dry and powerful Riesling, underlined often by a wet stone note with firm and ripe acidity.
Another highlight of our tasting was two vintages of the famous Clos Sainte Hune. This exceptional wine is a product of the terroir in the “Rosacker” vineyard, located in the village of Hunawihr. This parcel of land, which stretches over 1.67 hectares, has been in the Trimbach family for over 200 years.
Again, south and south-east facing vines, but on average here 50 years old! They lie on a predominantly limestone subsoil. These factors give this Riesling a unique flavor of remarkable fruit concentration, enhanced by a refined hint of minerality on the finish, and we got - for both very different vintages in 2009 and 2008 - pine needle like freshness.
But there were many other highlights, including the domain's first-ever terroir named wine. A revolution of sorts for the Trimbach family, although co owner Jean Trimbach calls it an evolution.
Skeptics of Alsace's grand cru system, the Trimbachs criticized the 1975 agreed-boundaries as too wide. And the family has always championed its brand wines, including the aforementioned Cuvée Frederic Emile and Clos Sainte Hune. But as more people appreciate terroir, the domain - like Hugel nearby - has begun changing its tune and emphasizing terroir. After all, 30% of the domain's 50 hectares come indeed from grand cru vineyards, including the aforementioned brand Rieslings. The family is considering putting that information on back labels, although technically it may not be legal to do so, if they do not indicate grand cru appellation(s) on the front labels.
Flight 1 - Classics and Reserves (4 notes)
A nice way to start, I really enjoyed the Pinot Blanc 2014 as a fresh and tasty wine. But the others were very good, too. The old vine Riesling naturally stood out as deeper and more interesting.
White
2014 Trimbach Pinot Blanc
France, Alsace
Pinot Blanc is an underrated variety in general, as I had recently discovered on a press junket to the northern Italian wine region of Trentino, where the Pinot Blanc outclassed many other varieties there. Of course it has a natural home in Alsace where it is overshadowed (too often, unfairly, by Pinot Gris). Here we have pleasingly light pear notes, just ripe enough white apricot, clean and medium bodied and just lovely with tapas. For example. 12.5% alcohol.
White
2013 Trimbach Riesling
France, Alsace
Trimbach is a major reference for Riesling. Here we have their initial level of wine, which is their least expensive offering, made from mainly purchased grapes. It is tasty, although in this vintage, I am getting perhaps a bit too much petrol for such a young wine, at least on the initial aromatics. Thankfully, pleasing white stone fruit, too, with some citrus like lift. A nice intro Riesling.
White
2012 Trimbach Riesling Reserve
France, Alsace
Made from a selection of grapes coming from top vineyards in Hunawihr, Ribeauvillé and Bergheim, although not grand cru vineyards There is more character to this wine when compared with the basic Riesling tasted just before, with a fuller body and a longer finish. Tasted with #winelover founder Luiz Alberto, who detected a bit of yeastiness. Indeed, more contact with the lees in this wines elevage. More sumptuous on the palate. Nice job!
White
2012 Trimbach Riesling Sélection Vieilles Vignes
France, Alsace
Made from old vine selections from the Trotaker and Muhlforst vineyards (candidates for being premier crus). Better than 2009, which I found a bit heavy with noticeable residual sugar. This has fine dry extract, and richness - but a very dry expression. White stone fruit aspects with some floral, too. 13% It is friendly in its full bodied richness nonetheless and owner Jean Trimbach suggested 2012 as a "great vintage for beginners".
Flight 2 - Cream of the crop (4 notes)
What can I say? Yet again, proof positive of how darn delicious Cuvée Frederic Emile is. And then a pair of two very different vintages of Clos Sainte Hune: 2008 and 2009. Both excellent, and although the 2008 will be better with time, the 2009 is simply seductive. Oh, and what about the revolutionary (evolutionary) bottling of the estate's first Terroir named wine? Well, that too, was great.
White
2009 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
France, Alsace
Hmmmm! This is almost borderline, but wins in the end. The grand cru Osterberg brings welcoming acidity as the Geisberg alone has more richness, according to Jean Trimbach. A very smooth palate, with full-bodied richness. Dry, of course, with citrus and peach aspects but also wet stone. You begin to sense the solar aspect on the finish, just slightly warm but never hot. 13.5%. I'm a buyer.
White
2009 Trimbach Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Geisberg
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
I remarked "this is revolutionary" and Jean Trimbach replied "no it is evolution." Whatever you want to call it, this is the first terroir named wine in the Trimbach stable - and it is delicious. All Michelin rated restaurants in Alsace have bought it, and rightly so. A pity that only 3,000 bottles were made from this vintage, coming from 2.6 hectares of wines. First foot into the grand cru door, not a revolution but an evolution, said Jean Trimbach. This is refined and elegant yet rich as well. Unlike Hugel, which earlier this year made much of its first ever grand cru wine, Trimbach opted for a more "word-of-mouth" approach. In any case, this is quite a change for the domain, which has long criticized the 1975-agreed grand cru boundaries as too wide. Trimbach has always championed brand wines, from Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling to the world famous Clos Sainte Hune Riesling. But as more people appreciate terroir, the domain - like Hugel - has begun changing its tune and emphasizing terroir. After all, 30% of the domain's 50 hectares are indeed from grand cru vineyards, including the aforementioned brand Rieslings. They are considering putting that information on back labels in future, although technically it may not be legal to do so, if they do not indicate the grand cru appellation on the front label.
White
2009 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune
France, Alsace
The wine is made from vines located at the center of the Rosacker Grand Cru vineyard, which ranks among Alsace's best. Until now, Domaine Trimbach does not label its Clos Sainte Hune wine with the Alsace Grand Cru title to which it is entitled. Could that change? Whatever the case may be, this solar vintage is very well handled here. A lovely pine needle aspect, with fresh meadows, lends freshness. It is very sumptuous on the palate but I could not sense the ... 14% alcohol. Yes, a minty aspect and fellow taster Luiz Alberto remarked a sweet herb, like caraway seed (grains de carvi), but not as strong as aniseed. The four grams of residual sugar were balanced by 7.5 grams of acidity. Truly lovely stuff, especially considering that the wine had been opened two days before, Anne Trimbach said. Trois fois bravo!
White
2008 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune
France, Alsace
Just opened for us, and we were among the first outside the maison to have had a taste. What can I say? This is a gorgeous wine in the making. Sure, it was tight. It needed air. And I kept it in glass for about one hour and noticed it opening up. Tasted just after the 2009, which had been opened two days earlier, quite a contrast. Sure, the 2009 is more ready to drink - even at this baby stage - but the 2008 has more precision and more tension and, I would say, better purity of fruit. You get that pine needle aspect and freshness, as well as burgeoning notions of pure pear like white fruit, along with citrus aspects and touches of wet stone, but it is just born. Fine balance of 13% alcohol, with higher acidity than 2009, at 8.6 grams. Long finish.
Flight 3 - A superb dry Gewurztraminer and late harvest styles (5 notes)
The revelation for me here was a superb Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre Gewurztraminer from the high acid 2008 vintage: a marriage worthy of heaven. And of course some very nice late harvest styles ended things well.
White
2010 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve
France, Alsace
Well, what can I say? I am generally not a huge fan of Alsace Pinot Gris. This is very well made, with 8 grams of tartaric acid and 34 grams of residual sugar. It is smooth and somewhat sticky. Lovers of Pinot Gris with some freshness will be happy with this!
White
2013 Trimbach Gewurztraminer
France, Alsace
For a basic Gewurztraminer, I tip my hat to Trimbach. It has a dry aspect in spite of the 8 grams of residual sugar. "If we tried less than five grams," remarked Jean Trimbach, "it would be 15% alcohol…" So we have 13.5% alcohol, with a smoky aspect that is not overtly varietal. Luiz Alberto got some floral notes and "a bit Muscat like," he said. I appreciated the nuances here, as it was not just litchi and simple roses. "How do you judge Champagne? You judge them on their non vintage brands," Jean Trimbach said. "We have to be extremely careful about our classic bottles." Well, they are fine!
White
2008 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre
France, Alsace
What can I say? I am first and foremost a Riesling drinker when it comes to Alsace. Dry Riesling. Gewurztraminer is my second favorite wine. This one? One of the best I have ever tried. Why? The high acidity of the 2008 vintage happily pairs with the spicy and succulent aspects of this varietal and winemaker Pierre Trimbach worked some magic here. The vines are grown on top terroirs, but no grand cru grapes: Muhlforst and sometimes Trottacker. The mineral wet stone aspect, with a touch of salty butter reminded me of white Burgundy. Jean Trimbach agreed. It is dry, yet full bodied. Sure, you get the spice of Gewurztraminer but not too ostentatious. Medium plus to full body with a long, echoing finish. This is a wine you could serve with the main course, whether meat or fleshy fish. I am an enthusiastic buyer.
White - Off-dry
2008 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives
France, Alsace
While not reaching the subtle elegance of the more dry Seigneurs, this is of course a late harvest style, with ... 63 grams of residual sugar. But as we experienced, you expect half that amount. The flavors are varied and lovely, from Clementines and blood orange to cinnamon. It finishes very focused with the acidity of the vintage balancing it all. Lovers of late harvest Alsace? This is your ticket.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Trimbach Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles
France, Alsace
A very concentrated wine. The aromatics are gorgeous, with figs and roasted pears. The palate exudes stone fruit and ... more richness. My score is subjective. I guess I am not always a big fan of SGN wines, because there is so much sweetness. Trimbach deftly balances the elements leading to a very successful SGN however!
Closing
It was such a pleasure to taste with both Anne and Jean Trimbach and with #winelover founder Luiz Alberto, who has much passion for wine, as he travels around the world to satisfy this passion. I was lucky that we were able to meet in Alsace! And we also shared a marvelous lunch with Anne and Jean. where we enjoyed a delicious Cuvée Frederic Emile Riesling 2005 and broke into a rendition of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, singing instead Bring back, bring back, bring back my Trimbach to me, to me. It was thoroughly fun.
