2018 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives, Alsace

Luminous yellow-gold. Enticing, showy aromas of peach nectar, honey, crystallized pineapple and sweet spices; spicy botrytis notes (nail polish, ginger) emerge with aeration. Silky-sweet and dense, offering ripe apricot, soft citrus and honey flavors nicely lifted by ripe acidity and complicated by a repeating spicy nuance. Finishes long and suave. This is a selection of grapes from the same sites as the Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre. Mostly made by passerillage (air-dried grapes) in 2017, but there was also a small presence of noble rot that is especially obvious on the nose (the hint of nail polish and exotic fruit notes). This will go on sale by 2020 (as no 2016 VT was made, Trimbach will release this wine a little sooner than usual).

94 points Ian D'Agata vinous.com January 2019

Trimbach Gewürztraminer Vendanges Tardives from Alsace is a magnificent late-harvest wine that captures the opulence and perfume of the Gewürztraminer grape while retaining the hallmark finesse and balance of the Trimbach style. Produced only in years when the grapes achieve perfect ripeness, this wine is the result of meticulous hand harvesting from select old vines around Ribeauvillé, where limestone and sandstone soils concentrate both flavour and natural acidity.

The fruit is left on the vine well into autumn, allowing natural dehydration and the development of noble rot to intensify sugar, aroma, and texture. Fermentation takes place slowly at low temperatures in stainless steel, preserving the wine’s purity and aromatic detail.

In the glass it glows deep gold. The aroma is intoxicating, showing rose petal, lychee, honey, apricot, and candied citrus, lifted by notes of ginger and spice. The palate is rich and luscious yet beautifully poised, offering layers of tropical fruit, citrus peel, and floral honey balanced by fresh acidity. Despite its sweetness, the finish is clean, vibrant, and endlessly persistent — a testament to Trimbach’s skill in crafting wines of elegance and restraint.

It pairs perfectly with foie gras, blue cheese, or exotic fruit desserts, and it can also be enjoyed on its own as a meditative wine. Built for longevity, it will evolve gracefully for several decades, gaining depth, spice, and honeyed complexity with time.