Trimbach Sylvaner Weinbaum 2023

100 % Sylvaner from a 0.8 ha plot of 60+ year-old vines in the lieu-dit Weinbaum, which sits above Haguenau in Ribeauvillé on Muschelkalk marl with an eastern exposure. Fermented dry in a mix of stainless steel tanks and old oak casks and bottled in the spring following vintage.
13.08 % Alc/Vol; < 1 g/L RS; 6.44 g/L TA; 3.31 pH.

‘The generous nose of this remarkable Alsace sylvaner reminds me of nutty old-fashioned apple varieties and some herbal delicacy. For a grape variety often assumed to be simple and rustic, it has both impressive concentration and some real elegance on the medium-bodied palate. Long, cool, herbal finish. From almost one hectare of 40- to 50-year-old vines. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.’ 93 points, Stuart Pigott, JS Wine Ratings, May 2024.

'Trimbach is at the summit of dry white winemaking.' Clive Coates M.W.

'Clos St Hune, the Alsace Riesling by which all others are judged.' Andrew Jefford.

With viticultural origins going back to 1626 this family owned estate produces some of the finest wines not only of Alsace, but indeed the entire world of wine. Around the villages of Ribeauvillé and Hunawihr, the Trimbach family owns 27 hectares of vineyards including 1.67ha of Rosacker Grand cru (which produces the highly famed Clos Sainte Hune Riesling) as well as parcels of Geisberg and Osterberg (blended to make the equally renowned Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile). Geisberg and Osterberg are located on the hill rising up behind the ‘new’ family winery on the edge of Ribeauvillé. The family moved from their ‘old’ winery in Hunawihr in the 1890’s! Indeed, the label of Clos Sainte Hune depicts the view to the local church from the old winery in Hunawihr.

According to Jean Trimbach, the house style is aiming for ‘harmonious wines that are concentrated, not heavy; fruity, not sweet; bracing rather than fat; polite rather than voluptuous.’ To that end, fermentations are cool and slow, maloloactic fermentation is not carried out and the wines are bottled early to retain freshness.

The dry Rieslings are usually made with less than 5g/l of residual sugar, whereas the dry Gewürztraminers might carry up to 10g/l. The wines are then aged in the cellar for at least one year; up to 5 years or more for the top wines. Even the richer Vendanges Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles wines are made with more restraint than is usual in Alsace more generally: VT Rieslings typically carry 15-40g/l; VT Gewürztraminer around 50-75g/l; and SGN typically from 100g/l.