Description
With viticultural origins going back to 1626 this family owned estate produces some of the finest wines not only of Alsace, but indeed the entire world of wine. Around the villages of Ribeauvillé and Hunawihr, the Trimbach family owns 27 hectares of vineyards including 1.67ha of Rosacker Grand cru (which produces the highly famed Clos Sainte Hune Riesling) as well as parcels of Geisberg and Osterberg (blended to make the equally renowned Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile). Geisberg and Osterberg are located on the hill rising up behind the ‘new’ family winery on the edge of Ribeauvillé. The family moved from their ‘old’ winery in Hunawihr in the 1890’s! Indeed, the label of Clos Sainte Hune depicts the view to the local church from the old winery in Hunawihr.
According to Jean Trimbach, the house style is aiming for ‘harmonious wines that are concentrated, not heavy; fruity, not sweet; bracing rather than fat; polite rather than voluptuous.’ To that end, fermentations are cool and slow, maloloactic fermentation is not carried out and the wines are bottled early to retain freshness.
The dry Rieslings are usually made with less than 5g/l of residual sugar, whereas the dry Gewürztraminers might carry up to 10g/l. The wines are then aged in the cellar for at least one year; up to 5 years or more for the top wines. Even the richer Vendanges Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles wines are made with more restraint than is usual in Alsace more generally: VT Rieslings typically carry 15-40g/l; VT Gewürztraminer around 50-75g/l; and SGN typically from 100g/l.
| Type | White Wine |
|---|---|
| Varietal(s) | Pinot Gris/Grigio |
| Country | France |
| Region | Alsace |
| Brand | Trimbach |
| Vintage | 2019 |
Alsatian wine
Alsace is a unique wine region in North Eastern France, bordering Germany and having also been under German control for much of its existence. Due to this influence, unlike other French regions, wines from Alsace are mostly single varietal bottlings and are also labelled with the variety. They also are legally required to use a tall slimmer bottle called flûtes d’Alsace, that is also commonly seen with German wines.
Almost all the wine produced in the region is white (90%) except for Pinot Noir which is used mainly for sparkling wine. Alsace is most known for its Riesling, which is dry, fresh and floral in its youth but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Following behind is Gewurztraminer with signature spice and beautiful lychee aromatics. The smell of this wine is intoxicating, it is used to make dry but also late harvest dessert wines. Pinot Gris is also a prized variety of the region with its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavours.
In Autumn humidity builds up to facilitate the development of “noble rot” to produce late-picked sweet wines. In Alsace there are two classifications for late harvest wines: Vendange Tardive (VT) and Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN). VT for regular late harvest wines and SGN meaning grapes affected by noble rot.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Auxerrois, Chasselas and Sylvaner.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.