Community Tasting Note

Rieslingfan wrote:

Saturday, March 16, 2024 - Back in January 2024 I opened the bottle of 1999 Clos Ste. Hune that I had bought on release and cellared with care for 20+ years. It was completely oxidized. Yes 20 years is a long time, but Clos Ste. Hune is capable of extremely long aging. Anne Trimbach reached out to me and offered to replace the bottle. We had a pleasant back and forth regarding the potential causes of poor showings of late-1990s Trimbach wines, and we agreed that lack of care by the importer or distributor could have been a contributing factor. My few bottles of 1998 Trimbach, purchased in France, have to date been perfect.

In mid-February the replacement arrived, triple boxed and swaddled in bubble wrap. I put it in the cellar for a few weeks of rest, until an obvious opportunity to open it arrived with a dinner alongside long and new friends at southern New Jersey restaurant Two Fish. The wine did not disappoint.

Not surprisingly for a middling vintage, this Hune is mature, but the bottles showed zero traces of oxidation, and floated alongside the excellent food, lifting the heavier courses, and singing harmony to the lighter ones. Seashell, lemon zest, and a compelling smoky note, more harmonious than could be termed petrol, infused the aromatics, and echoed on the palate, lingering longer than I had the patience to calculate. The next sip called, and there were also other wines.

The cause of the premature oxidation in the prior bottle is hard to know, but Anne’s effort to show the true quality of 1999 Clos Ste. Hune certainly paid off.

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