Trimbach, 'Clos Sainte Hune' Riesling, Alsace, France, 1990

Overview of the Wine
The Trimbach’s have a purist vision. For three centuries and across 13 generations, the family has produced wines that are structured, longlived, fruity, elegant and balanced: the celebrated Trimbach style. The family personally looks after each operation, from planting to harvests and from vinification to bottling. The viticultural origin of the Trimbach family dates back to 1626, when Jean Trimbach, was recognized as a citizen of Riquewihr. From then on, the Trimbach’s were renowned for their wine-growing. Maison Trimbach’s vineyards are all situated around Ribeauville (Ribeauville, Hunawihr, Bergheim, Rorschwihr, Riquewihr and Mittlewihr). They benefit from the unique Alsatian microclimate, thanks to the Vosges Mountains protection, which preserves the plain from the rain. The vineyards were planted on the Ribeauville’s fault line that fractured 50 million years ago between the Vosges Mountain range and the Black Forest offering a mosaic of terroirs including the complex calcareous limestone and bio-degraded seashell fossils called “Muschelkalk”. Trimbach Réserves are the result of a rigorous selection from mostly old vineyards in Ribeauvillé and the surrounding villages, producing more complex wines with longer ageing potential.

In the 1960’s, the Trimbach family decided that it was time for a second great dry Riesling, thus Cuvée Frédéric Émile, the signature wine of the Trimbach family was created. 

The plot of the Frédéric Émile straddles the Grands Crus Osterberg and Geisberg in Ribeauvillé, overlooking the winery. The plot has marl-calcaro-sandstone soils, south-southeast exposure, steep slope, and old vines 55+ years old.

Winemaker
Pierre Trimbach

Grape / Blend
Riesling

Origin
Alsace, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
1990 was a GREAT harvest and a wonderful vintage for Riesling. All the growing season was perfect during this vintage, the grapes were fully ripe and also very healthy.

Clean, healthy, ripe grapes with absolutely no touch of rot at all, it has a very clean and precise flavour. Full bodied with great richness and layers of fruits.

100 Points - Vinous
The 1990 Riesling Clos Ste. Hune is a timeless jewel of a wine. There is not much else to say. Utterly magnificent in the glass, the 1990 is extraordinarily beautiful from the very first taste. The passage of time has added shades of nuance, but above all else, the 1990 stands out for its incredible freshness and energy. The tightly wound finish and overall vibrancy both suggest the 1990 will drink well for a period measured in decades, not years. Endless and ethereal, with striking inner perfume and sublime layers of unctuous fruit intermingled with beams of minerality, the 1990 simply has it all. (AG)

96 Points - John Gilman
The 1990 vintage of Clos Ste. Hune has always been one of my absolute favorites and the wine has aged very nicely, though I have the impression that it is still climbing in quality and has not yet quite reached its peak. The beautifully ripe and pure bouquet offers up scents of tangerine, a bit of yellow plums, petrol, chalky minerality, other pit fruit, citrus peel, dried flowers and a touch of upper register menthol. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and absolutely rock solid at the core, with excellent focus and grip, lovely complexity, zesty acids and beautiful breed and bounce on the long and classic finish. A great wine. 

Product size: 750ml