Twelve generations of Trimbach winemaking so far. Their Cuvée Frédéric Émile riesling is effectively the reserve bottling from domain FE Trimbach; the grapes are sourced only from vineyards now designated as Grand Cru. This cuvée is only produced when the grapes are good enough, otherwise the juice goes into the standard riesling.
Based in Ribeauville since the late 1940's but this domaine has a much longer history; Since 1626 in Riquewihr there was a Maison Trimbach started by Jean Trimbach. In the early 1800's there was a move to Hunawihr where they stayed for a mere 100 years or so before jumping to Ribeauville. Interestingly the house they sold in Riquewihr was bought by the Hugels and is still the home of that domaine.
The Cuvée Frédéric Émile is a wine that for my taste and depending on the vintage hovers between good and wonderful. Personally I wouldn't drink this wine in it's first five years as I find it's steely acidity and tight mineral aspect gives too little away, but thereafter, enjoy...
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Of particular interest for my cellar is the Cuvée Frédéric Émile which is, if you like, the riesling 'reserve' bottling from the Trimbach domaine, sitting one place below the amazing Clos Ste. Hune. It's interesting that both these wines take their grapes from Grand Cru vineyards, but neither mention this fact on the label. The Frédéric Émile takes grapes from the GC vineyards of Geisberg and Osterberg which (like the Trimbach vines) are contigious, but the fact that they are blended together means that GC status - as far as the label is concerned - is lost. The reason is slightly different for the Clos Ste. Hune; the vineyard is entirely within the Rosacker GC so could use this GC title but Trimbach would have to change their labels to acknowledge that the GC is Rosacker rather than Clos Ste. Hune, so they never bothered!
The Frédéric Émile is relatively easy to find, so I've collected a number of vintages. The wines tasted here were all bought together (about 3 years ago) from the same Swiss merchant, and all were from half bottles. You should assume that larger bottles will mature a little slower. It is a wine that (in my opinion) is completely wasted if drunk young; it is so primary it is almost negative... After 3-5 years (depending on the vintage) more and more interest can be found in the glass, but personally I'd typically drink this wine when it's closer to 10 years old. Unusually for Alsace riesling I found a number of these wines to show some honey aromas - I'm not a big fan of the smell of honey (even direct from the honey-jar) as to my nose the aroma often hovers perilously close to oxidative.
1998 Cuvée Frédéric Émile
A disappointing crunch as the foil cutter moved round the capsule - the glass of the neck obviously seeing 'hard-times' - fortunately the broken pieces of glass went only about one third of the way down the cork. Here the cork is supreme over the screw-cap by still providing a seal - maybe the only supremacy left to it - I still had to filter out the glass pieces through tissue though. Medium gold in colour, sweet riesling nose with just a little honey in the background. Beautiful acidity and dense, intense fruit. There is a faint background that hints at oxidation, but then it could be honey - perhaps the cork didn't 100% save the wine (?) - given the wines that followed I'm not sure...
1997 Cuvée Frédéric Émile
Unpleasant smell to the cork, but no problem with the wine. Paler than the 1998, more a mid lemon-yellow. The nose is a more powerful mix of fruit and a faint kerosine note. The palate shows an extra mineral depth, lingering acidty and a very impressive length. The hard acidity associated with a young wine is still in evidence but on a low register. So still a very young showing wine that is very good today and should have an excellent future.
1996 Cuvée Frédéric Émile
Similar medium gold colour to the 1998. The nose is more honied than typical riesling, just a little citrus too. The palate is fresh and though there's a citrus and mineral aspect, there is also a certain fatness that isn't quite offset by the acidity. Doesn't show quite the length of the 1997 which I preferred.
1995 Cuvée Frédéric Émile
Paler than the 1996, more lemon-yellow. The nose shows a little honey and kerosine plus a citrus bite. After the 1996 there's a tighter expression to the fruit and super acidity - this really rocks. There's a really nice mineral dimension to the finish. Shows much younger than the 1996 and I love it! No harsh acidity, but the tight palate suggests that this wine will benefit from further cellaring - but only if I can keep my hands off it!
1994 Cuvée Frédéric Émile
Medium golden colour. The nose is high toned and shows aromas that straddle kerosine and agrumes, no honey this time. The palate shows more sweetness than the other wines, more vendanges tardives in style, an extra ripeness of fruit perhaps. This is a lovely wine that's drinking perfectly now, though I marginally prefer the style of the 1995.
