Originally posted 6/24/02
Last Wednesday I got together with a group of friends to taste a number of Trimbach Clos St. Hunes. The beauty of a verticals is that its both fun and educational to see how a particular wine does from vintage to vintage.
Though last minute cancellations knocked out the 96 and the two bottlings from 89, we still managed to have a wonderful tasting. At least when we were not talking about the Middle East situation.
Though I must admit to generally preferring German Riesling to their Alsatian and Austrian brethren, Trimbachs Clos St. Hune is consistently my favorite Alsatian Riesling. Bone dry, excepting the rare special cuve, they habitually express their terroir clearly and precisely and when an excellent vintage happens to grace Alsace, these wines are downright profound.
Brad
1998 Trimbach- Riesling, Cuve Frdric mile
Has a nose that reverts back to the more typical mineral, limes and light touch of petrol character that I find the FE usually exhibits, rather than the lush, tropical character of the 97. However, its somewhat disappointing on the palate. Its surprisingly more forward and less endowed than the previous few vintages and while theres very enjoyable lime and mineral flavors with keen acidity, theres a clear lack of mid-palate depth to the point of the wine seeming a tad dilute. All and all its still a pretty enjoyable wine, but I expected more. B+/A-.
1995 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Quite floral on the nose with intense mineral and fruit. Theres so much going on in this wine that its sort of hard to make sense of it all. Its rich, complex and packed with flavor and intensity. Theres a neat river rock quality to it and with air, some distinct apple flavors came up. Dry, with a rigid structure. Delicious wine. A.
1994 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Much more focused on the nose and palate than the 95 and with more of a clean and chalky mineral character. Extraordinary depth and with a more laser-like acidic backbone than the 95. With air it almost started to resemble a Savennires as it took on quince and yellow fruit notes with a touch of dry honey. Huge, lingering finish. Solid A.
1993 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
The only Hune to go through malolactic fermentation and it shows. It has a soft, simple plumpness to it on the nose and palate. Theres a pleasant citrus quality with a faint touch of caramel. Doesnt have the focus or the acidic kick of the others, but its still an enjoyable drink. B+/B.
1992 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Not much on the nose and not much stuffing on the palate, either. Fairly light and on the shrill side. Mineral and tart acidity dominates. Showed better with food. B-.
1991 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Baked, spiced apple aromas suggests that the wine may be a touch oxidized. Lean and tart with a spiced apple and slight burnt sugar overtone. This wine has never been a favorite of mine even when it hasnt shown oxidized notes. The wickedly lean and acidic character reminds me a bit of the 91 Coule de Serrant. C.
1990 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
A bit of bee wax on the nose with underlying fruit. This wine really took a while to get going and was nowhere near as accessible as a bottle I tried a few months ago. This is a dense and brooding wine thats packed with fruit, mineral and bees wax and is waiting for the right time to come out and play. That time isnt right now, but it will come and there will be much rejoicing. A.
1988 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
This is one cool customer. It doesnt have the same forcefulness or depth of some of the big boys in the lineup, but its nicely proportioned, elegant and just delightful to drink. Terroir driven, complex and light on its feet. Solid A-.
1986 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Chalky mineral, yellow citrus and bees wax aromas. On the palate its rather austere with unripe fruit. As a result the acidity is a bit more pronounced. Like flavors as aromas with a bit of petrol. B/B-.
1985 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Open and expressive on the nose with chalky mineral, petrol and aged stone fruit. Dry on the palate, but with a slightly honeyed quality. Floral with chalk, lime and aged stone fruit flavors. Well balanced with a long lime and mineral finish. Somewhat similar to the 88, but it has a little more weight and depth to it and shows a bit more fruit. A/A-.
1983 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Certainly the most unusual wine of the night as it shows an intense mint characteristic on both the nose and palate. Theres plenty of ripe, tropical fruit on the nose, but it doesnt really appear on the palate. Rather one gets an overall sensation of ripeness in the mouth, but without the fruit. While pleasant, its easily the lowest acid wine of the night and seems a bit ponderous. Others in the group said theyve had better bottles. A-/B+.
1981 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
A darker color than all the other wines leads to questions about provenance. Nutty, shallow and tart. Not good. C.
1996 Mller-Catoir- Riesling Eiswein, Mussacher Eselshaut, Pfalz
A light amber color. Just a stunning and complex nose that I would never grow tired of. Sweet tea, tamarind, rambutan (a kind of lychee with a hairy looking exterior), mango and dried apricot aromas just beguile. Viscous and sweet on the palate, but with that wicked streak of acidity the 96s are known for. The flavors are just as complex and decadent as the aromas. Its very tropical, but also shows a strong dried fruit character. Too young, but delicious. A+.
Last Wednesday I got together with a group of friends to taste a number of Trimbach Clos St. Hunes. The beauty of a verticals is that its both fun and educational to see how a particular wine does from vintage to vintage.
Though last minute cancellations knocked out the 96 and the two bottlings from 89, we still managed to have a wonderful tasting. At least when we were not talking about the Middle East situation.
Though I must admit to generally preferring German Riesling to their Alsatian and Austrian brethren, Trimbachs Clos St. Hune is consistently my favorite Alsatian Riesling. Bone dry, excepting the rare special cuve, they habitually express their terroir clearly and precisely and when an excellent vintage happens to grace Alsace, these wines are downright profound.
Brad
1998 Trimbach- Riesling, Cuve Frdric mile
Has a nose that reverts back to the more typical mineral, limes and light touch of petrol character that I find the FE usually exhibits, rather than the lush, tropical character of the 97. However, its somewhat disappointing on the palate. Its surprisingly more forward and less endowed than the previous few vintages and while theres very enjoyable lime and mineral flavors with keen acidity, theres a clear lack of mid-palate depth to the point of the wine seeming a tad dilute. All and all its still a pretty enjoyable wine, but I expected more. B+/A-.
1995 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Quite floral on the nose with intense mineral and fruit. Theres so much going on in this wine that its sort of hard to make sense of it all. Its rich, complex and packed with flavor and intensity. Theres a neat river rock quality to it and with air, some distinct apple flavors came up. Dry, with a rigid structure. Delicious wine. A.
1994 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Much more focused on the nose and palate than the 95 and with more of a clean and chalky mineral character. Extraordinary depth and with a more laser-like acidic backbone than the 95. With air it almost started to resemble a Savennires as it took on quince and yellow fruit notes with a touch of dry honey. Huge, lingering finish. Solid A.
1993 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
The only Hune to go through malolactic fermentation and it shows. It has a soft, simple plumpness to it on the nose and palate. Theres a pleasant citrus quality with a faint touch of caramel. Doesnt have the focus or the acidic kick of the others, but its still an enjoyable drink. B+/B.
1992 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Not much on the nose and not much stuffing on the palate, either. Fairly light and on the shrill side. Mineral and tart acidity dominates. Showed better with food. B-.
1991 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Baked, spiced apple aromas suggests that the wine may be a touch oxidized. Lean and tart with a spiced apple and slight burnt sugar overtone. This wine has never been a favorite of mine even when it hasnt shown oxidized notes. The wickedly lean and acidic character reminds me a bit of the 91 Coule de Serrant. C.
1990 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
A bit of bee wax on the nose with underlying fruit. This wine really took a while to get going and was nowhere near as accessible as a bottle I tried a few months ago. This is a dense and brooding wine thats packed with fruit, mineral and bees wax and is waiting for the right time to come out and play. That time isnt right now, but it will come and there will be much rejoicing. A.
1988 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
This is one cool customer. It doesnt have the same forcefulness or depth of some of the big boys in the lineup, but its nicely proportioned, elegant and just delightful to drink. Terroir driven, complex and light on its feet. Solid A-.
1986 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Chalky mineral, yellow citrus and bees wax aromas. On the palate its rather austere with unripe fruit. As a result the acidity is a bit more pronounced. Like flavors as aromas with a bit of petrol. B/B-.
1985 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Open and expressive on the nose with chalky mineral, petrol and aged stone fruit. Dry on the palate, but with a slightly honeyed quality. Floral with chalk, lime and aged stone fruit flavors. Well balanced with a long lime and mineral finish. Somewhat similar to the 88, but it has a little more weight and depth to it and shows a bit more fruit. A/A-.
1983 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
Certainly the most unusual wine of the night as it shows an intense mint characteristic on both the nose and palate. Theres plenty of ripe, tropical fruit on the nose, but it doesnt really appear on the palate. Rather one gets an overall sensation of ripeness in the mouth, but without the fruit. While pleasant, its easily the lowest acid wine of the night and seems a bit ponderous. Others in the group said theyve had better bottles. A-/B+.
1981 Trimbach- Riesling, Clos St. Hune
A darker color than all the other wines leads to questions about provenance. Nutty, shallow and tart. Not good. C.
1996 Mller-Catoir- Riesling Eiswein, Mussacher Eselshaut, Pfalz
A light amber color. Just a stunning and complex nose that I would never grow tired of. Sweet tea, tamarind, rambutan (a kind of lychee with a hairy looking exterior), mango and dried apricot aromas just beguile. Viscous and sweet on the palate, but with that wicked streak of acidity the 96s are known for. The flavors are just as complex and decadent as the aromas. Its very tropical, but also shows a strong dried fruit character. Too young, but delicious. A+.