By: AJ McClellan
We were honored to have Jean Trimbach in from Trimbach wines in to taste us on his truly special lineup of Alsatian wines. Jean is of the 13th generation of this prestigious family, when I commented on how fantastic his wines were he told me it was easy, it’s only the first 300 years that is hard…
2007 Trimbach Riesling Classic – There are no introductory level wines at Trimbach, starting their collection is the “Classic” Riesling and it lives up to its name. Clean and crisp with a structured minerality and lively fruit this wine is nothing short of classic.
2004 Trimbach Riesling Fredrick Emile – Everything that I love about Riesling is in this wine. There is a sharp acidity but balanced with plump upfront fruit of peaches and pears. There is a floral note of daisies and lilies backed by the classic petrol that you find in many high quality Alsatian wines. Perfect balance with a long finish.
2002 Trimbach Riesling Clos St Hune – The Clos St Hune is Trimbach’s top of the range Riesling from the Rosacker Grand cru vineyard, and while “Grand Cru” will never appear on the label there no do doubting the quality of this wine. Extremely complex in the glass with petrol, lemon, ripe peach, Asian pear, limestone, wild summer flowers, and a touch of honeysuckle on the back end. This wine has great aging potential and fantastic character.
2005 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve – This is an interesting bottle with a label unique to the United States. Everywhere else in the world Trimbach keeps it traditional label for the Pinot Gris Reserve but in the US they changed it to depict Jean’s home town in Alsace. This was part of a marketing ploy to get Americans to buy more of the Pinot Gris seeing as it is a very easy drinking wine without the sharpness of the Riesling or the unique texture of the Gewurztraminer. The Pinot Gris is full of ultra ripe fruit with a touch of minerality on the back end. Very easy to drink with a nice finish.
2001 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve Personelle – This is Pinot Gris for the serious wine drinker. While the Reserve was easy drinking and could be quaffed without much thought the Grand Cru Personelle Pinot Gris is a serious wine with many complexities and nuances to be discovered. Classic Petrol on the nose accompanied by mango and papaya showing more tropical notes than the linier Riesling. The palate was broad and weighty with white roses, schist, limestone, cobble, and tropical fruits. This was a truly fun wine to drink with a lot going for it.
2001 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Ribeaupierre – Another truly unique wine. The Grand Cru Gewurztraminer was everything one could hope for form this grape. Thick texture with a plethora of tropical fruits – pineapple, mango, green apple, and star fruit with a great mineral backing. In most Gewurtz wines there is a problem with balance because of the grapes naturally low acidity levels but with Trimbach’s there was perfect harmony to the wine.
