|
 Monday evening saw a gathering of FINE+RARE’s Alsace Riesling aficionados at the achingly trendy venue, Sketch. Jean Trimbach hosted this first ever white wine dinner for us, with the theme of the evening being his single vineyard, named in honour of his grandfather, Frédéric Emile. The Cuvée Frédéric Emile vineyard covers two grand cru sites on Trimbach’s estate, Geisberg and Osterberg, both with clay-limestone soil.
Henriot Blanc de Blancs from magnum started our evening, and with five years maturation on lees and one year in magnum, this non-vintage champagne, from 100% grand cru vineyards, fooled many a customer into requesting the vintage. We then made our way to beautiful tables, lit with black candles, overhung by an arborescent chandelier, set off by red roses and sunset walls. The starter, a cerviche of fish shot through with coconut, launched the evening alongside Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 1997 and 1998. The 1997 expressed a more complex nose but the palate was sharp, acidic and packed with citrus fruits. The 1998, on the other hand, opened with exotic stone fruits and as it blended with the air as we ate, soon added hints of raisin on both the nose and the palate. This was also a little more cloying versus the austerity of the 1997. Our evening progressed with corn-fed chicken complemented by a Riesling sauce, with Cuvée Frédéric Emile 2001 and 2002 next in the wine line up. 2001, described as “classic” expressed the minerality of the terroir and worked with the green apple flavours to offer a steely, rather closed wine. The 2002 leant towards a more juicy wine, bigger in body, although the chalk and mineral traits were no less pertinent in this offering, with floral hints, and leant itself well to the food. Both these vintages showed hints of botrytis, a most interesting, though not unpleasant, quality from such a well ventilated site. It certainly boded well for the SGN still to come with dessert. Cheeses local to the Alsace region went hand in hand with the two highlights of the evening, Cuvée Frédéric Emile 1989 and a 375th anniversary wine made in 2001, still from the same vineyard. The 1989 immediately expressed its maturity with a deeper gold colour than we had yet seen in our glasses. The palate opened with minerality and grew into cassis and mint with stone fruits lingering at the back. The 375th anniversary wine had great length, and although still crisp and nicely balanced, there was a hint of butter reminiscent of a white burgundy and it was more generous in the mouth. Finally, our enormous dessert of sponge, fruit and pannacotta arrived accompanied by an SGN – selection de grains nobles – also from 2001, and also Cuvée Frédéric Emile. Jean highlighted the rarity of this wine, as the site’s ventilation and exposure to passing breezes makes it hard to create the right conditions. This very special wine, made in desperately small quantities, had apple and honey, stone fruits such as plum and a hint of spice unusual to the grape. For those who could struggle on, tea and coffee with fist-sized macaroons made on site rounded off a very satisfying evening and marked the hour to waddle home. We would like to thank Jean profusely for his entertaining hosting, ability to paint a picture of the vineyards as he talked, and for being willing to choose a favourite from the flights on offer, especially in a room with divided preferences. We raise a glass to Trimbach, and if you want to do the same please do check out our offer. |