Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2015
95+VM / 95+WA
Ribeauville, Alsace, France

Alcohol 14.5%
DRY Riesling

Wine Advocate: 95+ Points
The 2015 Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile is clear and intense but highly refined on the nose that perfectly blends mineral with concentrated lemon and smoky flavors. Round, concentrated and very elegant on the palate, this is a slightly sweeter than normal Riesling, but it is highly finessed, well-structured and perfectly salty with a long and tension-filled finish. Fine tannins reflect the limestone/marl terroir of the Geisberg Grand Cru with the southeast-facing Osterberg Grand Cru. The 2015 will not go on the market earlier than 2022.

Vinous: 95+ Points
Vibrant straw-green. The penetrating, explosive nose offers yellow apple, musky ginger, flint and chamomile. Dense, sappy and highly concentrated; peach and balsamic flavors are complicated by a hint of crystallized citrus peel. Displays lovely balance from start to very long finish. This is a noteworthy step up in concentration and complexity from Trimbach’s Mandelberg and Schlossberg Rieslings, however delightful those last two wines are in 2015. In keeping with the hot, dry 2015 vintage, this strikes me as sweeter than usual for the Fréderic Emile, though by the time it goes on sale in seven or eight years, it will taste less sweet than it is today. Clearly, the berries and bunches were extremely small in 2015, and so the wine is especially concentrated, rich and glyceral, all of which contribute a dimension of sweetness. However, the small berries didn’t give much juice and only 26,000 bottles were produced in 2015, instead of the more usual 40,000. Always a blend of grapes grown in the Geisberg and Osterberg sites, the wine’s makeup in 2015 is about 60/40 in favor of the Osterberg, but not surprisingly, the Geisberg’s presence really comes through in a hot year like 2015. I personally like it more when the Osterberg stands out, but that said, this is a really outstanding wine in the making, one of the best young FEs I have memory of. 

95pts Stu Piggot
Very complex white with slate, stone, light petrol, and smoke aromas. Lemon fruit. Full body, yet vivid and intense. Shows some phenolic tension yet brightness and intensity at the end. A gorgeous 2015. Drink or hold." 12/16


Winemaking:

• The grapes were picked in the Geisberg and Osterberg Grands Crus at full ripeness resulting in optimum depth of flavor and complexity.
• The vinification was very traditional. The grapes are pressed very gently in a pneumatic press.
• The juice ferments in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats for 3–4 weeks.
• The wine is not oak-aged, all steel
• Vinified to complete dryness with no residual sugar
• The wine ages in bottle in the cellar for seven years before reaching the marketplace, ensuring the wine is both ready to drink upon release but also can be cellared for 20 years or more.

Typical nose of citrus fruits, white flowers, flint. Dry and powerful wine with great aromatic complexity enhanced by a chiseled acidity. The expression is ample and finely underlined by its mineral notes. This grape variety is the big winner of this vintage: finesse and freshness are at the rendezvous.

TRIMBACH
Grand Cru Alsace
"Cuvee Frederic Emile

So, you may be asking, why is the 2015 for sale now? Well, that is because they hold the wine back for AT LEAST 7 years after bottling in their cellars, they do the aging for us.

Also, while Trimbach do not follow the grand cru status game in Alsace with labeling, the fruit for this beauty is from TWO grand Cru vineyards, one the Geisburg and the other the Osterberg. They are adjacent to each other so the expression is very similar - both marl-limestone-sandstone. Cool Alsace maps and vineyard details can be found from this great resource (Alsace.com)

The other Grand Cru they are known for might be a wine you have heard of Clos Ste. Hune? They now also work with Schlossberg, a core vineyard of Domaine Weinbach.

ALSO, while this wine has been known to vary in style based on the vintage, most recent vintages are 100% dry and 2015 is no different as this is vinified entirely dry.