The Greatness That Is Trimbach

There are few more venerable names in the world of wine than that of Trimbach, one of Alsace’s wine houses that has made a litany of amazingly memorable wines over the years. Founded back in the seventeenth century and therefore one of the oldest wine domaines in the world, Trimbach became especially famous in 1898 thanks to the hard work and drive of Fréderic Emile Trimbach whose wines won numerous awards in his time. Subsequent family members held the quality standards similarly high and the estate has gone from accolade to accolade, becoming famous in the process for making some of the world’s best white wines.

The Vineyards: villages, lieux-dits, and the Geisberg and Rosacker grand crus

Trimbach farms grapes from 65 hectares that are owned by the family, plus another 60 hectares under lease. The viticulture is all certified organic since the 2023 vintage. In total, this world-famous Alsace estate produces about 85,000 cases of wine a year, and the wines are well worth seeking out, in my humble opinion. Do you want a classic Riesling wine? Well, hard to do better than the Trimbach entry-level Riesling “Classique” wine, which is actually partially made with declassified Grand Cru grapes (from the Schlossberg, Brand and Geisberg, for example). And you won’t find anywhere a better Gewurztraminer entry-level wine: in fact, this last wine is a great example of why Trimbach hits the highs it does and why it is one of the world’s greatest wine domaines. Did you know that the grapes for this Gewurztraminer wine are sourced in the territories of the towns of Westhalten, Rouffach, Gueberschwihr and others nearby? That may not mean much to the uninitiated, but in fact those towns are all located in a special section of southern Alsace that contains some of the world’s greatest villages Gewurz terroirs of all (not by chance, it’s where the  grand crus Zinnkoepflé, Goldert and Vorbourg are located). In other words, Trimbach doesn’t go looking for Gewurz grapes up north, where despite what everybody will try to tell you Gewurz does not usually reach the absolutely, like nowhere else unique levels of greatness it is capable of in Alsace, but rather picks its grapes in parts of the region which, while not of grand or premier cru quality level, are still areas where the grape thrives and gives some of the world’s greatest white wines. Hence, what you get is an entry-levekl wine of amazing quality level. In fact, it’s not fair to consider the Trimbach “classique” wines as entry-level, for they really aren’t.

Without doubt, this is part of the secret to Trimbach’s great wines: that they are often made, even at the so-called entry-level, from very old vines and from vines that grow in very good areas of the Alsace wine production zones such as those I have just mentioned. Relative to the grand crus, Trimbach now makes numerous grand cru-labelled wines (for example, Brand, Mandelberg, Geisberg….), but as this recent Shanghai encounter with Jean Trimbach centered around the presentation of the winery’s  classic and reserve wines, only the wines of the Geisberg and Rosacker grand crus were featured, and so I will focus on them in this report.

The Geisberg

The Geisberg is one of the three famous grand crus of Ribeauvillé, one of Alsace’s prettiest and most important wine towns (the town’s other two grand crus are the Osterberg and the Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé; note that the latter’s name, though long, has to be spelled out completely, because another Kirchberg grand cru vineyard exists in Alsace, the Kirchberg de Barr). The name “Geisberg”, of which there have been different spellings during the centuries, means “the mountain of the goats”: on a less poetic note, it was also the battlefield of numerous warring engagements, none more famous than the battle of August 4, 1870 when the Prussiand defeated the army of General Abel Douay.

Trimbach’s Riesling Geisberg Grand Cru wine is a recent addition to the family’s (ever-increasing) portfolio of grand cru-labeled wines. They only started making a separate grand cru bottling from this site beginning in 2009. In reality, Trimbach has always made a “Geisberg” wine, only that the cru’s wine was blended in with wine from the Osterberg grand cru to make the legendary Riesling Cuvée Fréderic Emile, for many people the second-best classically dry Riesling wine in the world (after Trimbach’s own Riesling Clos Ste.Hune). In normal years, the Riesling Cuvée Fréderic Emile is a blend of 60% Osterberg and 40% Geisberg, and can be a simply magical wine. In fact, it wasn’t rare a decade or two ago that some older vintages of the Fréderic Emile were practically as good as the more famous Clos Ste.Hune, Trimbach’s flagship and universally considered to be the world’s single greatest dry Riesling wine.

But the thing to know about the Geisberg is that, even at only 8.53 hectares (one of Alsace’s smallest grand crus) it is not a homogenous site. Therefore, the portion of the vineyard that Trimbach uses to make its iconic Cuvée Fréderic Emile is not the same as the part of the vineyard used to make the Trimbach Riesling Geisberg Grand Cru wine. While Trimbach has been making the former wine since the 1971 vintage, it only released its first Geisberg grand cru wine with the 2009 vintage. The family was asked in 2008 by the nuns of the local convent (Couvent de Ribeauvillé) to take over from and  caring and making wine from their Geisberg vines which clearly at Trimbach they were happy to do (and probably couldn’t even believe their luck!). It follows that the Geisberg Grand Cru bottling is made with grapes sourced from the vineyards located immediately around the convent, differently from the Cuvée Fréderic Emile in which the Geisberg grapes are sourced from vineyards immediately near the winery building.

In general terms, the Geisberg is best thought of as a marl-limestone-sandstone vineyard area located between  250-320 meters above sea level. It is a very steep site, and so terraces (kammerle) are everywhere. It faces full south, and is therefore a rather warm site, with wines that have noteworthy power but thanks to the limestone presence in the soil, also noteworthy acidity. What sets the Geisberg apart from all other grand crus that boast a similar soil composition is that its wines are marked by remarkable acid presence leaving wine professionals and wine lovers alike to grapple with the curious pairing of power and penetrating acid cut. To my mind, what is also extremely typical of the Geisberg’s wines, is the definite, very discernible and easy to recognize balsamic-menthol note older wines from this site take on. So whereas younger Geisberg Riesling wines smell and taste of fresh white and citrus fruits and perhaps a little minerality, wines with about ten years under their belt take on notes of honey, pine resin and bergamot and white pepper. These notes become especially strong further out, say at twenty years of age, when the notes of pine cone, pine resin, and botanicals really take over, which is something some people like more than others. Fortunately, the wine’s minerality also gets kicked up a notch, which is a big plus in helping the Geisberg’s wines reach a more interesting organoleptic profile. (In fact, I have always believed, and still do, that the Cuvée Fréderic Emile’s greatness is in large part due to the presence of grapes from the Osterberg grand cru, that help provide the Geisberg portion of the blend with ulterior complexity and a different expression that I for one like greatly.)

The Rosacker

Ah, the Rosacker. It’s a grand cru, for sure: one that is very good at delivering very good wines, but its greatness lies elsewhere. And that greatness resides wholly in the Clos Ste.Hune, a Trimbach monopole from where Riesling grapes are sourced, that as I have written many many times before, give what is universally acknowledged to be the world’s best Riesling wine (and one of the world’s ten most famous white wines). In fact, the Clos Ste.Hune is so famous that it does not need the name of the grand cru on its label: everyone knows only too well what the Clos Ste.Hune is, and represents. And so, differently from the Geisberg wine, the Rosacker’s name does not appear on the label of the Clos Ste.Hune. Honestly, the world’s most famous classically dry Riesling wine doesn’t really need any help.

The Rosacker takes its name from the wild roses that grow there; it is 26.18 hectares large, faces east/southeast and is located between 260-320 meters above sea level. As far as grand crus go, the Rosacker differs from the Geisberg in many different and important ways. First, it is not extremely steep (only its higher reaches turn resolutely upwards) and so terraces are nowhere. Furthermore, because of its specific terroir characteristics, the Rosacker is not planted to Riesling only, but harbors other grape varieties too. At last look, the distribution of grape varieties on the Rosacker was roughly: Riesling (65%); Gewurztraminer (23%); and Pinot Gris (12%), though I know for a fact that some vignerons have other wine grapes planted there too. He soil is different too, for the Rosacker is characterized mostly by a deep soil and a mother rock deriving from the Mushelkalk and Lettenkhole, with dolomitic marl and a shellfish fossil (cératitites) presence dating back to about 245 Million years ago. Last but not least, compared to the Geisberg, the Rosacker is a late-ripening site guaranteeing long hang times to the grapes. The eastern exposure undoubtedly helps in this regards, but also the fact that it is an area up against the Vosges, with a shadow effect that makes for a grand cru vineyard area that is at once cooler and less windy, but also, alas, dryer. All these characteristics explain why many different grapes can thrive in the Rosacker: the lack of wind; the deep, fertile soil; the eastern exposure; and the late ripening nature make it ideally suited to many grapes, but at the same time, those wine grapes that do not fare well in late-ripening sites and potentially droughty ones are perhaps not the best choice for the Rosacker. The Rosacker’s wines are generally quite broad, mellow and ripely acidic (salification of tartaric acid happens at low rates in the Rosacker given its lack of soil potassium). The wines express pretty, easygoing notes of white flowers when made in cooler years, while warmer years give wines characterized by hints of acacia honey and a very spherical mouthfeel that is not altogether common in the wines of most of the other Alsatian grand crus. Independently of how warm or cool the growing season’s weather was, flint is usually always present in Rosacker wines (rather, it’s the degree of flinty presence that changes from wine to wine and from vintage to vintage); by contrast, diesel fuel notes are rare in wines from this grand cru (save for in some specific years, like 1982). Note that the Clos Ste.Hune represents a small section of Rosacker vines; as it covers roughly only 1.9 hectares of the grand cru.

Recent vintages

The 2024 vintage in Alsace was not too unlike the 2021 vintage, some of the wines of which are described in this report. Both were essentially difficult years, marked by just as difficult growing seasons. Though the two vintages can be best characterized as rainy, they gave wines of unexpected concentration (yields were forcibly lower because of issues with flowering) and high natural acidities (again, because of the concentrating effect that took place in the grapes). Strangely enough, the rain in 2024 came from the south (in Alsace it usually arrives from the west, moving through Bordeaux and finally reaching Alsace), but in this year it moved up from the Rhône and into Burgundy and finally hitting Alsace. It follows that it was the southern reaches of Alsace that got hit hardest in 2024, with some of those southernmost vineyards losing about 80% of their crop. Mercifully, Ribeauvillé is located more in the Haut-Rhin, and so was largely spared. Disease pressure was especially high this vintage, with downy and powdery mildew all posing noteworthy problems, not to mention grey rot.

The wines in this tasting report

The wines in this tasting report were tasted along with Jean Trimbach at the Atelier 18 restaurant in Shanghai this June 2024, also in the company of the senior representative of the Trimbach importer in China, ASC, and numerous well known KOLs and wine somms of the city.

Trimbach 2021 Riesling Alsace                 93

If you ever needed a wine by which to showcase the greatness that is Alsace Riesling wine, then the 2021 Trimbach classique is a poster boy for your cause. This wine is even better today than when I first tasted it at the domaine years ago (and hence I have increased my score by one point). Bright pale yellow in colour, it boasts captivating, piercing aromas and flavours of yellow and white fruit, lifted by perfumed jasmine and lemon verbena top-notes. Gorgeously pure and penetrating, this lingers on the juicy, vibrant and lemony finish. You start drinking and you literally can’t put the glass back down (not until you’ve emptied it, that is). I honestly can’t remember the last time I so enjoyed a Trimbach Riesling classique wine so much. It’s a really head-turning effort, given it’s “only” an entry-level wine and how little it costs; but then again, it’s made with a good portion of declassified grand cru grapes (from the Schlossberg, Brand and Geisberg, for example) at shows clearly. Drinking window: 2024-2029.

Trimbach 2018 Pinot Gris Réserve Alsace             93

Wine doesn’t get much more delicious and fun to drink than this one. Bright golden-tinged yellow with an obvious pink hue. Rich, sultry aromas of ripe pear, tarte tatin, cinnamon and caramel and quince paste, lifted by a bright yellow flower topnote. The rich and mellow, with sweet spice nuances to the apple butter, pear nectar, guava and truffle flavours that linger impressively on the ripe, suave back end that hints at a touch of residual sugar. This wine’s pretty colour is a consequence of the hot 2018 growing season, with some pigment leaching out from the skins despite no prolonged skin contact whatsoever. Beautiful, rich Pinot Gris wine that will stand up especially well to rich salmon and halibut dishes with sauces and even white meat (veal, chicken) in mushroom sauces. A real crowd pleaser, this Pinot Gris Réserve (made from grapes sourced from the estate’s best vineyards in quality lieux-dits and from grand cru vineyards too) will also make an exceptionally good “wine by the glass” choice in restaurants everywhere. Listen, if I owned a bistro, this wine would be front and center, because it will simply please everybody. Drinking window: 2024-2028.

Trimbach 2021 Gewurztraminer Alsace                92

I love Gewurztraminer’s wines and nobody does them better than Alsace. This 2021 from Trimbach boasts a nose that can only be described as “enchanting” and “captivating” and deserves a 95 all on its own. Bright yellow colour. Exceptionally rich and complex on the nose, offering aromas of yellow tropical fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, pepper, white flowers and honey. Then rich and dense in the classically dry mouth (less than 4 g/L r.s.), but with slightly more subdued flavours similar to the aromas. Closes long and fresh, but with less complexity and nuance than I might have expected, given the heady nose. My score is therefore an average of the nose (95 pts) and the mouth (89 pts). Drinking window: 2024-2028.

Trimbach 2021 Pinot Noir Réserve Alsace             91

Bright ruby-red. Very pretty easygoing aromas and flavours of blueberry, plum , minerals and violet. Juicy and fresh but also nicely ripe and suave, this approachable, easy to drink Pinot Noir packs in sneaky amounts of flavor and density on the long, tapered, and slightly smoky finish. The grapes are sourced from mostly limestone soils, showcased by this wine’s juicy acid cut. Drinking window: 2024-2028.

Trimbach 2018 Riesling Geisberg Grand Cru Alsace  94

Good full yellow-green. Deceptively open-knit andy to drink, with aromas and flavours of peach, yellow apple, licorice and wild anise, with hints of crystallized apricot, but this gives a sense of holding back somewhat on all it can still give. Then broad and supple in the mouth, with a juicy nuance nicely lifting the ripe orchard fruit and herbal flavours. The long finish is marked by a faint tannic presence and repeating notes of anise and licorice. This is very Geisberg and will be much better and more complex in years to come; not by chance, it’s why at Trimbach they usually release this grand cru wine later than their Schlossberg Riesling wine, for example). The Trimbach family now owns or farms almost 50% of the Geisberg: the western holdings are those of the Couvent, while those in the eastern section are used to make the Cuvée Fréderic Emile. In fact, the soil changes in the Geisberg from top to bottom too, so depending on where an estate’s vineyard plots are, there can be at least three, and more likely four or five, different Geisberg Rieslings that could be made. Drinking window: 2025-2032.

Trimbach  2018 Riesling Clos Ste.Hune Alsace          98

Even in a hot year like 2018, the Clos Ste.Hune is superb. Deep straw-green colour. Citrus peel, ripe yellow apple, minerals and hints of exotic fruits on the fresh nose are lifted by lemon verbena and jasmine. Then rich, layered and juicy in the mouth, with very pure sweet orchard fruit, pineapple, mineral and candied violet flavours finishes long and classically dry (1.6 g/L r.s.). Extremely deep and  complex, this rich suave wine boasts lively, penetrating acidity (6.8 g/L total acidity) giving the concentrated fruit noteworthy energy and focus. Organically farmed since 2008, this is one of the world’s greatest and most famous classically dry white wines, and for most wine lovers or those in the know, the world’s best dry Riesling wine, period. I’m not usually a fan of warm vintage wines, but the 2018 Clos Ste.Hune is just too good to not be given its due. Chapeau! Drinking window: 2025-2038.

Trimbach  2013 Riesling Geisberg Grand Cru Alsace         96

Very pretty golden-yellow slightly opaque colour. Deep aromas of peach, crystallized apricot, sweet spices, acacia honey, minerals and a whiplash of marmelady botrytis. Rich, dense cpomplex and very suave, with an orange nectar- and peach pie-accented set of flavours, this closes long and suave but with brilliant clarity and cut. For my money and my taste buds, it’s the best Geisberg Riesling that Trimbach has ever made. The 15% noble rot certainly helps me in reaching that assessment, as the level of concentration and complexity of this Geisberg wine is quite unlike anything made before or after from this grand cru at the winery. Unfortunately, noble rot is at a premium in the rather hot Geisberg grand cru; but when it’s present and pure, then the Geisberg’s wines reach a stratosphere of goodness that is hard to describe. Whatever you do, buy this baby by the case. Drinking window: 2025-2033.

Trimbach Riesling 2014 Cuvée Fréderic Emile Alsace (from magnum)                     96

The 2014 vintage may not have been a memorable one in Alsace but grand cru terroirs never disappoint and the Cuvée Fréderic Emile is just a dandy. A blend of roughly 60% grapes from the east-facing Oseterberg grand cru (for my money, one of the most underrated in all Alsace) and 40% grapes from the south-facing Geisberg, the 2014 Cuvée Fréderic Emile is a knockout. Boasts a pretty bright straw green colour with some gold. Enticing aromas and flavours of of lime, white flowers, guava, licorice and minerals linger impressively. Boasts impeccable acid-fruit balance (less than 2 g/L r.s. and about 8.8 g/L total acidity) and offers an easy-drinking, approachable quality despite its concentration and outrageous size. Long, energetic and focused on the mineral-laced, tapered and vibrant finish. Super-nice Riesling wine. Drinking window: 2024-2032.