Each region around the world has epic producers, in Alsace you think of Albert Mann, Zind Humbrecht, Ostertag and always Trimbach.
Trimbach has certainly had plenty of practice. In only nine years they’ll celebrate the family’s 400th year making wine!
Over the centuries they have never stopped evolving.
The first celebrated release of Clos Ste Hune was in 1919, followed by the release of Cuvée Frédéric Emile in the 1960’s, and, now two new Grand Cru’s the Geisberg 2009, and, the very first Schlossberg in 2014, which we offer today.
The Schlossberg vineyard has been leased from the Nunn’s of the local convent who insist it be bottled separately and not blended into a blended Cuvée.
The Wines
There’s a strong theme across the wines of vibrant flavours, elegance and sophistication, zesty acid for near dry wines, balanced by great depth of fruit. These are some of the most beautifull & pure expressions of Riesling made today.
Although I’ve used the term Grand Cru throughout the offer, Trimbach, like Soldera and Gaja, doesn’t always agree with the local classifications, thinking it too broad, allowing inferior sites onto the Grand Cru list in some instances. You won’t see the term on their Clos Ste Hune Label.
Clos Ste Hune
This is undoubtedly one of the world’s best Rieslings!
In 1919, after centuries of making Rieslings, the Trimbach family created one of the world’s greatest dry white wines: Clos Ste. Hune.
Trimbach produces this holy-grail wine from the tiny 3-acre Clos Ste. Hune. The Clos (walled vineyard) lies within the Rosacker grand cru. Yet, the Trimbachs label their treasure simply as Clos Ste. Hune, just as they have since 1919. They refer to neither Rosacker nor grand cru; Clos Ste. Hune transcends both. It is hors classe in the same way that Ch. d’Yquem is in Sauternes.
Clos Ste. Hune balances its enveloping richness with an intense minerality, remarkable finesse and great structure. This is thanks to Clos Ste. Hune’s 50-year-old vines, planted in cool, calcareous-clay soil with a gentle incline and a high percentage of limestone. Thus, like a Raveneau grand cru Chablis, the more it ages, the more profound Clos Ste. Hune becomes.
The Trimbachs continue to make Clos Ste. Hune as they did in the past: a cool, slow fermentation; a quick racking to remove the wine from the lees; no malolactic fermentation; and a short period of aging in neutral wood foudre before bottling early to retain the fruit. The wine is then aged for an incredible five years in bottle before being released.
In great years, tiny amounts of Vendange Tardive are made, but they are different from other VT’s. They result not from botrytis but passerillage—dehydration caused by the sap returning to the vines root system. They boast immense concentration and complexity, but only off-dry levels of residual sugar, as Trimbach vinifies them to be as dry as possible. Like other Clos Ste. Hunes, the VT’s are capable of immortality.
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 more than 200 years.
The south, south-east facing vines are on average 50 years old and 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.
After a few years of ageing, the typical characteristics of the “Clos Sainte Hune” terroir vibrantly shine through the glass.
The small annual production of 8,000 bottles on average, makes this wine an extremely rare treasure, much sought after by Riesling lovers and collectors across the globe.
Trimbach’s “Clos Sainte Hune” wine has an exceptional ageing potential as it can age 7 to 10 years after bottling without even reaching its peak.
The Trimbach Family keeps the bottles 5 years in the cellar for ageing before release.
Words from the Familly
Cuvée Frédéric Emile Grand Cru
Like many of the Trimbach wines this is released from the cellars with considerable bottle age. It is a superb introduction to their top Riesling wines.
By the 1960s, the Trimbach family decided that it was time for a second great dry Riesling, and so they created the Cuvée Frédéric Emile. Unlike the mono-cru Clos Ste. Hune, the new cuvée was a blend of two grand cru sites: Geisberg and Osterberg. The soils in both crus are clay and limestone over sandstone; the soils are not only stony, they are strongly alkaline, producing a wine of intense minerality and powerful acidity.
The site also benefits from the strong winds that blow across it, keeping the grapes dry and lessening the incidence of botrytis. This is essential for the purity, precision and restraint that define Cuvée Frédéric Emile. The cooling wind also allows extended hang time, yielding fruit of stunning complexity.
Like Clos Ste. Hune, Cuvée Frédéric Emile has astonishing aging capacity—with time developing remarkable expressiveness, including a nuance that the Trimbachs describe as “toasted bread and white truffle.”
As with Clos Ste. Hune, when the conditions are right, the Trimbach’s don’t hesitate to make stunning Vendange Tardive and SGN bottlings of Freddie Emile. Despite their richness and concentration, they maintain the gyroscopic balance and sense of grace that are Frédéric Emile’s hallmarks.
Schlossberg Grand Cru
Tasting this wine your immediately struck by the layers of flavours and edge of funk a just right edge of oxidative handling lending a lovely complexity without comprimising freshness. This needs more time to evolve and deliver it’s full potential.
Dear Friends,
We are thrilled today to present you the second wine from our Grand Cru Collection : Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2014 !
In 2012, our Family bought 2 ha of the well reputed Grand Cru Schlossberg. The first vintage produced is 2014, an excellent vintage for pure and crystalline rieslings.
Grand Cru Schlossberg has a granitic terroir : granite from Thannenkirch above Ribeauvillé and granite migmatite from Kaysersberg.
Planted in horizontal terrasses, south facing, located next to the castle, just under the forest, the vineyard benefits from a cooler microcosm.
This riesling is delicate, dry, precise and able to age for at least 10 years.
Next to our jewels Frédéric Emile and Clos Ste Hune, our Grand Cru Geisberg (2009 sold out, 2011 current) and our new Schlossberg 2014 are the beginning of a “Grand Cru Collection”.
We’re proud to present this first vintage of Grand Cru Schlossberg, enjoy this wine, a very limited production, almost confidential… and a great riesling !
The Trimbach Family
*Both the Clos Ste Hune and Schlossberg are incredibly limited. We’ll do our best. All wine is ready for immediate delivery.
About the Wines
Trimbach Riesling Grand Cru 'Schlossberg' 2014
Fabulous aromas of granite, lemon rind, dried flowers and hints of green papaya. Full-bodied and layered with fantastic ripe fruit and balance. The phenolic tension and form is incredible. Tight and structured. First year made. The new Clos Ste. Hune?
Trimbach Riesling Grand Cru 'Cuvée Frédéric Emile'
2007 - Aromas of stainless and sliced apple with hints of melons, lemons and spices. Full-bodied, very tight and lean with a gorgeous salinity. Almost a white pepper character. A triumph. A beauty. So dry and intense. Amazing. Drink or hold.
2008 - This is very deep and dense with oyster shell, sliced pear and apple character. Full-bodied, tight and fresh. Wonderful finish. Wow.
2009 - This is so open and sexy with blood orange, minerals, flint and stone. Full-bodied and tangy, plus sliced lemon, lime and white peach. Salty with limestone too. Amazing.
Trimbach Riesling Grand Cru 'Clos Ste Hune'
2008 - Aromas of sliced apple, pear, lime rind and camembert. Full-bodied, dense and layered with so much ripe fruit and power. Then acidity takes off. Wow.
2011 - This is really deep and dense with a long, long finish. It's full-bodied plus has mineral, salt and dried fruits. Very powerful with a super finish that's generous and sexy.
Click to Enlarge – Just to the left of the Germany tittle, you can see Rosacker (within which rest Clos Ste Hune), Geisberg and Osterberg vineyards.
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