WTN: Trimbach my bottle to me, to me

[David M. Bueker]

So went the song that Jean Trimbach and Michael Quinlan started towards the end of a fabulous dinner.

Jean Trimbach may be the most engaging personality in the world of wine. I am also fairly certain he could sell the proverbial snow to an Eskimo. Of course he's also part of a family that makes wonderful wines. Over the course of a short pre-dinner tasting, and during the dinner I had the chance to try a wide range of current and "near-current" releases. I didn't take any formal notes, as I was having too much fun, but the wines are so good that they stick in the mind.

2006 Trimbach Muscat "Classic" (yellow label)
A light, dry, steely Muscat with plenty of floral character. Should be delicious for drinking all summer.

2006 Trimbach Gewurztraminer "Classic" (yellow label)
Very characteristically Gewurztraminer, with pineapple and lychee aromas. More floral and again quite dry on the palate, but in no way lacking in body. This is another great choice for summer 2009.

2007 Trimbach Riesling "Classic" (yellow label)
Coiled up like a compressed spring. The fruit is tight, and all that really expresses itself is minerals. Should be really good, but for next summer, not this summer.

2005 Trimbach Riesling "Reserve"
This sports the same yellow label as the classic bottlings, but has the word reserve in small type. It's more expensive than the classic by about $5, but for that you get significant increases in density, length and overall potential. This wine is also showing a little bit of bottle development and drinks quite well now despite its promising future. Enjoy this summer (and fall!) and for several more.

2005 Trimbach Pinot Gris "Reserve"
This has as the front label a picture of (I presume) Ribeauville. It's also the best value of any wine in the tasting/dinner. I was able to try it on its own and with food (lobster bisque), and it was delicious both ways. There's plenty of fruit, and a bit of the almost glyceral richness that Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer carry, but it's also vibrant, dry and refreshing.

2004 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling
I'm going to toss this out there and likely face a backlash, but I did not care for this wine. For the most part it is CFE, but it has a hint of that odd tobacco ash flavor that I have found all over the 2004 vintage (e.g. Beaujolais, Red Burg, White Burg, Savennieres, etc). In Beaujolais and Red Burgundy I have not minded that element if it was not overbearing, but in white wine I find it totally offputting. I tasted this wine at the pre-tasting and dinner, and I found that tobacco ash element both times. A friend at the tasting described it as "old ashtray." For the first time in a long time I will pass on a vintage of CFE.

2001 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling "375th Anniversary Cuvee"
Jean said that this wine came from a single plot in Osterberg. It's much richer in texture than standard CFE, but it's still bone dry and densely packed with minerals. The most striking feature of this wine right now (I really found it quite closed compared to a bottle a year ago) is the incredible length. It just hangs on the palate. It's lovely stuff, but also down for a nap.

2002 Trimbach Pinot Gris "Reserve Personnelle"
I initially thought this would be my favorite Pinot Gris of the evening. It had all the classic pear fruit, mineral and richness that I was expecting, and really stood out for the way it was mouthfilling but completely dry. It's an outstanding wine, and I am no big fan of Pinot Gris.

2000 Trimbach Pinot Gris "Hommage a Jeanne"
But then this wine came along with its extra bit of ripeness, its subtle (according to Jean 10 g/l) sweetness and its touch of botrytis to steal the show. I think the 375th Anniversary CFE is the best wine we were served all night, but this wine showed the best. It was open and delicious. Will it get better? Maybe, but who cares. It is so good right now. Fantastic stuff.

2001 Trimbach Gewurztraminer "Cuvee Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre"
Is this totally dry? I'm not sure & I never got the chance to ask. It drinks dry, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a little bit of RS. No matter, as it's a fabulous Gewurztraminer that shows all the varietal characteristics (except that it has no back end bitterness that Gewurz sometimes gets) and drinks very well right now. I had a '96 Trimbach Gewurz CSdR the other night, and hte wine can certainly age, but at age 8 this was singing. I would get into it now.

The overall consistency and high level of the Trimbach wines continues to amaze me. I've been enjoying the wines for over 10 years now, and very rarely been disappointed. If I had to pick a single winery for dry white wine where I knew a "blind" pick would be something good, I would go for Trimbach.

Great notes, thanks! Make me want to rush to the store and fill the shopping cart with Trimbach. Funny how "not formal" notes can be so expressive, maybe because only the highlights survive in the memory...

that odd tobacco ash flavor that I have found all over the 2004 vintage (e.g. Beaujolais, Red Burg, White Burg, Savennieres, etc

In German riesling?

[David M. Bueker]

that odd tobacco ash flavor that I have found all over the 2004 vintage (e.g. Beaujolais, Red Burg, White Burg, Savennieres, etc

In German riesling?

You know I have not gone back to check in a long while. I'll do that. I do worry about the power of suggestion, but in the Trimbach it was completely obvious.

2002 Trimbach Pinot Gris "Reserve Personnelle"
I initially thought this would be my favorite Pinot Gris of the evening. It had all the classic pear fruit, mineral and richness that I was expecting, and really stood out for the way it was mouthfilling but completely dry. It's an outstanding wine, and I am no big fan of Pinot Gris.

A timely note as Alko just listed this in their recent arrivals! Though at 30€ a bottle, I don't think I'll be buying lots of it. I know this wine is known to age well, but it reads as it is quite delightful already? BTW, Alko's technical sheet says that it has 12g/l RS but also 6,5g/l acidity, so not quite totally dry but I guess with the acidity it tastes like it

We also just received the '04 CFE, but I'll give it a try as I did enjoy the lesser '04 Rieslings of Trimbach.

David, thanks for the write-up. It was a good read and very helpful.

The one wine that most caught my eye was the 2000 Pinot Gris Hommage a Jeanne. I had a bottle of that in February and it took a good while to open up. Your description of it being one of the most open wines of the night made me go back and look up my tasting note from February (See below). I am wondering if you know how long the wine was open before you all had a chance to taste it, because my experience was that this was a wine in need of a fairly long slow ox or some kind of a vigorous decant.

2000 Trimbach Pinot Gris Hommage a Jeanne. For the first hour or so, the nose on this wine essentially smells like every kind of petroleum product imaginable—giving an unpleasant first impression. However, after an hour these aromas start to become more integrated--with notes of citrus peel, waxy lanolin, honey and apricot folding in nicely. On day 2, an even greater aromatic transformation seems to take place—with the wine displaying beautiful and complex notes of spiced apple, toasted honey, musk, vinyl, iced tea and orange marmalade. In the mouth, this has a great food-friendliness and is a great pairing to Alsatian onion tart. There is a fine sense of structure despite the soft rounded fruit. It also features the most balanced and definitely the longest finish of the wines served this night. On day 2, the texture turns more opulent and fleshy, with a more pronounced bottom note really bringing everything to another level. It is a real delight when one gets to that point, so I suggest a decant or long slow ox on this if planning to drink it in the near term.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

-Michael

[David M. Bueker]

Michael,

The bottle was opened about 5 minutes before it was poured. Of course so were all the wines, and many were quite tight, so being the most open is not saying a whole lot.

But I did think it drank woderfully, and was not alone in that assessment.

[Jenise]

I bought a bottle of the current release of the pinot gris reserve (with the picture of the town on the label) just last weekend. The wine will probably have more impact on me after reading your notes, so thanks.

I've only had Ribeaupierre once (a half-bottle as I recall) and loved it. Will have to seek it out even if it means placing a special order.

Trimbach my bottle to me, to me

To you, to you.


If you're scratching your head at this point, it's because the above is a hommage to the inappropriately named 'Chuckle Brothers' who are stars of a childrens TV program over here. I strongly advise not hunting for a clip on YouTube, as I don't want to be responsible for you scratching your eyes out in horror.

To the wines, I must admit that if I am going to drink Pinot Gris / Grigio, then I'll always lean to the Gris from Alsace. For me the textural impact is important, but perhaps it also has a uniqueness vs. the somewhat faceless / soulless pinot grigios that I've tasted (disclaimer - I suspect there is better in Italy than I've tried to date)

regards

Ian

[David M. Bueker]

that odd tobacco ash flavor that I have found all over the 2004 vintage (e.g. Beaujolais, Red Burg, White Burg, Savennieres, etc

In German riesling?

Not in the 2004 Loewen Leiwener Klostergarten Riesling Kabinett I opened tonight, though residual sugar can cover up a lot.

I can't believe that many Trimbach wines were poured and Thor Iverson was not present. I thought by now he accomplished his goal of being adopted by the Trimbachs .

[David M. Bueker]

I don't even know if Thor was in the country at the time.

David, where was the dinner held? I enjoy tracking the NY restaurants. I am due to get back there in the next 12 months and always enjoy booking ahead if I know somewhere decent.

[David M. Bueker]

The dinner was outside of Springfield, Massachusetts at a lovely restaurant called The Federal.

I've only tried the 2001 Ribeaupierre Gewurz among the wines you tried but I agree, it's perfect now. Thanks for the notes.

[David M. Bueker]

I figured I would add the photo from the pre-dinner tasting.

062309JeanTrimbach 028 resized.jpg

Ok for those who live on the other side of the planet, who is who in the photo?

[David M. Bueker]

I'm on the right. When I had my old avatar that would have been easier.

David is on the right. My (possibly imperfect) memory is that David is taller than me, which makes Jean Trimbach basketball material if perspective isn't off.

I really like the 01 SdR. Only Gewurz I buy regularly, since the Burn Goldert/Imer seemed to get less consistent.

I have a lone bottle of the 00 Hommage PG, note makes me want to open soon

[David M. Bueker]

Jean Trimbach is indeed quite tall. I would say he's a good 3 inches taller than me (I am 6' 1").

ok, so I'm at least as tall as you. I guess you seemed taller since you were standing next to Betsy!

which makes Jean Trimbach basketball material if perspective isn't off...

He's chosen the wrong career!

Fantastic lineup, David. Thank you for those notes - I've only touched the tip of the iceberg when exploring Trimbach (just that 98 CFE you opened with Thor/myself, and an 00 CFE VT that Dale had opened that was somewhat reticent), but I really do need to explore them a lot further.