Why do we love Riesling so much?
In Alsace, we used to – and still – call Riesling » the King of Alsace » or » the King of our Noble grapes » (those being Pinot Gris, Gewruztraminer and Muscat beside Riesling). This white grape variety was introduced in Alsace around the 15th century and was coming originally from the Rhine valley.
Historically, in our Family, from 1626 to now, Riesling has been made in the same traditional, pure and clean, focused and DRY style.
For my Family, who is totally committed to Riesling, Riesling is really the King of Alsace for many reasons, moreover it is the King of the white grapes in the WORLD.
When I was handling a tasting a few weeks ago, I said to a group of people « we think Riesling is one of the best white grapes in the world ». My Uncle Jean looked at me and said : « we think it is ONE OF THE BEST ? we are sure it is the BEST white grape of the world !!! »
Pierre, my father and our winemaker (12th generation) produces Riesling in the « Trimbach Style ». It means it’s very unique: Riesling are picked at the end of the harvests of course, fermentation is completely done until there is no more sugar, the vinification is made in stainless steel and we never use NEW OAK, never do the malolactic fermentation to preserve the vivacity of the wine, we bottle very early, and age the bottles in our cellar for several years before releasing.
Our aim is to produce elegant, pure, clean, focused and our Rieslings remain DRY (except if the mention VT or SGN is on the label, that’s another story). We always kept them dry and this is how « wine connoisseurs » love Riesling.
Riesling has various qualities… Many people have written about them, but the quality that always blow us is it’s versatility.
Did you know that Riesling is he most versatile white wine in the world ? Fish, seafood, white meat, veal, vegetables, cream, cheeses, herbs, spices ; foods inspired from occidental, oriental, asiatic cuisines etc… You can match almost everything with a nice Riesling, from the crispiest and fruitiest to the more complex and mineral wine, from classic cuisine to fine Gastronomie. We often say Riesling is a « Gastronomie Wine ».
At the winery and during my travels, what I really understood is how our rieslings go so perfectly with food and fine dishes, first because they are well balanced, second because they remain dry. My Uncle Hubert just showed me a nice letter received from 2 visitors from Alaska. They only wrote a few words but I think they really understood very well our Rieslings and my favorite words are : « your true expression of each grape variety is what real wine drinkers aspire to ».
We produce several Rieslings from top to bottom. Riesling « Clos Sainte Hune » is for sure the more well known, as well as Riesling « Cuvée Frédéric Emile » which is our flagship Riesling. Today, « CFE » is present in the 26 three stars Michelin Restaurants in France and in many great places in the world ! Those two Rieslings are wines to age (often more than 20 years), coming from wonderful parcels of vineyards, old vines, low yield, and they are absolutely perfect for food. They can age more than 20 years when some people think white wines are to drink when young !
Our reputation and our image has probably been built on the fact that we love and respect Alsace wines. I did not tell a lot about Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir, but we love them too !
To conclude briefly, we think Riesling is wonderful and wanted to affirm proudly that it is the best white grape variety of the world and that we are very lucky to grow it in Alsace !
Trimbach Rieslings. Go for them !