From time to time, a wine is sufficiently compelling to make you stop what you are doing and pay full attention to it. This wine from Trimbach, Alsace and the 2016 vintage is one of those wines. In the glass, the wine has aromas of stone, gunflint and what I will call “rain smoke”, by which I mean an aroma that reminds of, but isn’t quite, the smell of first rain on warm bitumen. I find a similar character in some top German grosses gewächs, which are also dry wines. The palate of Trimbach’s riesling is dry, the acidity high and its length on the finish long and complex. This is an outstanding Alsace riesling that can be approached now, and should age and improve for at least a decade. Review Rating: Outstanding (★★★★★, 95 points). Website: Trimbach. Tasted: April 2024.
