Maison Trimbach - Riesling Clos Sainte Hune, 2011
Trimbach’s origins date back to 1626, making it one of the oldest wineries in Alsace. Throughout its long history, Maison Trimbach has remained a family business. Today the estate is run by Trimbach’s 12th and 13th generations of winemakers!
Trimbach’s operations are now based in Ribeauville, north-west of Colmar. The family owns 40 hectares across six different villages.
Trimbach is famous for its phenomenal, dry steely rieslings which have an immense minerality and purity of flavour. Trimbach’s style can be defined by two words: tension and restraint. To quote Hubert Trimbach, their aim is to craft wines that are “concentrated not heavy; fruity, not sweet; bracing rather than fat; polite rather than voluptuous”.
The pinnacle of Trimbach’s production, Clos Sainte Hune is a single-vineyard riesling, whose fruit is sourced from its namesake plot just outside Hunawihr. Clos Sainte Hune is widely considered one of the finest expressions of riesling in Alsace – and probably the world!
In the glass, the wine appears pale with a brilliant lemon-straw hue. To the nose, it suddenly unveils its huge complexity. The nose is ripe and multi-layered. It opens with lime, tangerine peel and apple, then riper aromas emerge. Stone fruit, hints of tropical flavours (passion fruit, banana) and even some dried fruit. There is also an elegant yet marked floral presence, such as orange blossom and white flowers. Suggestions of petrol-like aromas and honey reveal the start of an evolution. The multitude of nuanced flavours come and go, in a kaleidoscope of vibrant and aromatic suggestions. They reveal their ineffable presence, just to give way to the next scent in the complex aromatic profile. One word. Intriguing.
To the palate, the wine is rich with a powerful yet elegant silky mouthfeel. Full in body, with a high acidity that you can only describe as perfect. The polychromatic aromatic profile is faithful to the nose. Ripe apple, tangerine, gooseberry, stone fruit, hints of tropical fruit mingle with a chalky and flinty minerality – almost salty as it progresses. Hints of toast and breadcrumb percolate in the mid-palate. Suggestions of kerosene and honeyed dried fruit indicate an early development in the bottle. Powerful yet nuanced and refined, with a long mineral finish. This wine almost feels that it could linger in your mouth forever! Huge complexity. A true work of art.