1997 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre

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  11/20/2022 - Ingmars wrote:

  After the producer's Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 1997 a few days ago, I thought it appropriate to open the corresponding Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre 1997, as almost a decade had passed since I last broached a bottle. Though it sits on the same quality branch in the Trimbach hierarchy, I have never paid much attention to it since having three bottles over 2002-2004. The fact that I have only opened two bottles since (2013 and now), more than hints at my general attitude towards this variety. Looking over my private notes for Alsatian Gewurztraminer, I count only ten wines tasted since 1996. Clearly, I don't seek them out. The overall average of of my 16 ratings has been ''good plus''. Of these, the Trimbach CSR and Vendanges Tardives are the only ones which have rated very good plus to fine plus on a total of three occasions. When I take those particular bottles out of the calculation, I get an average rating of only good, and that includes 7 other bottles of these particular high-end Trimbach Gewurztraminer labels. But the combination of snowfall, a Fassbinder film and the preceding CFE97 aligned the stars to point to this CSR97.
  
  The 1st surprise was the cork emerging as a single unit, despite some fractures - including a substantial fracture at the very near end of the cork. That itself is worthy of note for a Trimbach-marked cork from that era.
  
  The colour, too, was remarkable, considering the variety. This looked, with its full yellow and slightly gold-tinted colour, fresher than the CFE97. The thick legs were appetizing.
  
  Expecting the typically forward and unmistakable gewürztraminer nose, I was taken aback at how reserved the nose actually was. It was nice not to have the all-too-obvious musk, roses, lychee and spice of the variety leap at you from the glass, as I had expected it to. Had I been smarter, I would have consulted my 2013 note, which did make a point that the nose on that bottle was showing a lot less of the usual gewürztraminer features. So, I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was. That's not to say that there had emerged a new symphony of scents. No, it was quite subdued, quite neutral except for a hint of raspberry and a faint impression of charred wood. Has this seen some time in large wooden casks? It wouldn't surprise me.
  
  What a lovely mouthful of wine. Sure, the 14% alcohol adds greatly to the body, but it's delightfully round, sweet-fruited, intact, long and finishing dry, without showing any of the up-front and usual clumsy varietal flavours. This seems to be in its prime and given a choice between this and the CFE from the same vintage, there's a good chance I would opt for this, simply for the reason that it now speaks volumes of what can be achieved with this variety. Fine and a repeat of the rating I gave it nearly 19 years ago. A delight to sip through Fassbinder. Should hold form till age thirty.

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