2015 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvee des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre, Alsace

Made from old vines cultivated on predominantly Keuper marl-limestone soils and only produced in the best years, the yellow-golden colored 2015 Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs Ribeaupierre opens with an intensely aromatic and dense bouquet with medium richness and complexity. On the palate, this is a very elegant, refined and rich as well as complex and sustainable Gewurz with orange flavors on the round and elegant, well balanced and structured finish. Due to its fine tannin grip and in particular the saline and vibrantly fresh salinity, the 2015 tastes less sweet than one might fear. In fact, it is a great gastronomic wine to be matched with spicy and aromatic dishes or as a dessert itself. Mango and other tropical aromas pulsate on the stimulating aftertaste. 14% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2023.

Ribeauvillé (with Hunawihr), and their rather cool terroirs on deep calcareous and sandstone marl soils, are among the winners of the warm and—during the vegetation period—dangerously dry 2015 vintage. Trimbach is just another example, and consumers will certainly fall in love with the 2015 icon Rieslings of this almost-400-year-old family enterprise after they have been released in a couple of years. Sure, there have been dryer Clos Sainte Hune vintages than the 2015, which ended up with 14% alcohol and 14 grams of unfermented sugar, but was there any better? I wouldn't claim the 2015 is the greatest ever, but I'd give it a wild card in any CSH vertical tasting for the next 30+ years. With the (dry) Cuvée Frédéric Emile and the (medium-dry) Grand Cru Geisberg there are two more world-class Rieslings from Ribeauvillé. And, being at probably the most famous Riesling estate in all Alsace, the 2015 Grand Cru Schlossberg (the second future release after the premiere of 2014) and the Cuvée M (from the Grand Cru Mandelberg) are of great quality! Since we are talking about Riesling, the Réserve and the Sélection de Vieilles Vignes (not produced in 2010 and 2013) are excellent dry Rieslings to be paired with many kinds of dishes. During the summer months in 2015, nobody at Trimbach thought the wines, especially the Rieslings (of which Trimbach produces 350,000 bottles per year), would turn out that well two years later. But nature was propitious and ended the dreadful summer drought with a good rainfall in August, which, as Jean and Pierre Trimbach put it during the tasting, "saved the vintage." I'd rather say the rainfall caused a miracle and pushed the vintage into unforeseeable heights. Although the summer was extreme on many days, the 2015 wines kept their freshness, mineral expression and linear Trimbach style. "Thank God the crop was low since the beginning, otherwise nothing would have become ripe," says Pierre Trimbach. But the grapes became not just ripe but also intense and concentrated, giving the wines, especially the Rieslings, exceptional qualities and extraordinary aging potential.

94 points Stephan Reinhardt robertparker.com