Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2004...Seriously good gear!

The problem with the recession is that we have to think really hard when we want to treat ourselves to a truly fine bottle of wine.The choice becomes more a responsibility than the pleasure it was in the past, as it cannot disappoint or you will be fit to kill.
So in that  frame of mind I elected for a safe bet and returned once again to my favourite white wine of all time Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Fredric Emile .This particular wine has it all as far as I am concerned and the variation in its style, year on year, though subtle makes it all the more intriguing.

2004 was the vintage this time around and as always I was not disappointed.Concentration is the name of the game here, from the moment you inhale the tangy complex nose to the lovely reminder of  sheer quality that the intense finish leaves when the wine is long gone from your mouth.

Lovely lovely weight with a tangy  limey backbone surrounded by sweet red apple,candle wax,Arran sweater and so many other ethereal nuances delivering a delicate, elegant, yet powerful wine .If you have not tried this wine you should.Don't worry about the vintage as long as it is five years old minimum. They are all fantastic expressions of Riesling and the weather of that particular year.It is not cheap at around €35 to €40 depending on the vintage, but I tell you what... you will know you have just drank something really special and will recall that pleasure in your mind long after the bottle is in the recycling plant.

Til the next time Frederic.

Evelyn
The Vintry

CONSUME AND ENJOY IN MODERATION
 

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HUGEL PINOT BLANC 2007 CUVEE LES AMOURS

What do you get when you cross the flavours of a very good Riesling with the flavours of a very good Pinot Gris.......Hugel  Pinot Blanc 2007.
This is a wine that I seem to drink quite frequently, which is unusual given that I have, an entire shop to choose from every time I want  a bottle of wine and, all day to ponder that choice..
It really is delicious and the fact that it has bottle age even more so.In fact I think Pinot Blanc ages better than Pinot Gris because it has that lovely limey backbone that one often finds in a Riesling.
So take that backbone and surround it with that fleshy yet elusive cool climate ripeness one encounters in Pinot Gris and there you have it.
 A truly interesting wine @€14.95.

Prost!

Evelyn

THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

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Trimbach Muscat 2007 Alsace,France

Jean Trimbach was in town this week so I collared him for a chat about his harmonious Muscat and his not so harmonious singing for which he is also quite famous!

He "very" frequently sings.. to the tune of My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean:

My bottle lies over the ocean,
My bottle lies over the sea,
My bottle lies over the ocean
Oh Trimbach my bottle to me.

Trim-bach,Oh Trimbach,
Trimbach my bottle to meeee.
Trim-bach,Oh Trimbach,
Oh Trimbach my bottle to me.

His Muscat however is finely tuned and is relatively dry by normal muscat standards. The highly-scented nose of this wine leads into a flavour so fruity that you almost think you are eating ripe grapes.Believe it or not Muscat is one of the few grapes whose taste remains unaltered when vinified into wine.

The food of Alsace certainly has both German and Swiss influences mixed in with the obvious French ones and while visiting there I found it hard to escape a meal that did not feature ham,gammon or pork ribs.However they do a thing called a tarte flambee which is the thinnest pizza that you can image baked in a wood fired oven topped with creme fraiche,white cheese ,white onions and surprise surprise small pieces of rasher(!)Served piping hot directly from the oven... it is sublime, in fact I could live on it.

Prost!

Evelyn

THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

Trimbach Gewurztraminer 2007

Guh-VOORTS-truh-MEE-nur... and I had to look up that phoenetic pronunciation but thankfully this wine is way easier to drink than it is to pronounce. Myself and Ruth are very familiar with this wine as it is by far T's favourite grape and her producer of choice so whenever we need to get into her good books, a chilled bottle of this usually works!


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The name itself comes from the german word "Gewurz" meaning spicy which is a characteristic of this wine and traminer meaning "from Tramin" which is a village in Italy where this clone originates from. This is Alsace's second most widely planted variety with Riesling obviously coming in first. Trimbach has a drier style than most as Gewurztraminer due to it's high natural sugar can result in a mostly off-dry white. Trimbach however pride themselves on their more subtle style.
Pale gold in colour. On the nose, there are the characteistics expected; floral notes especially roses, turkish delight and some spice. A full- bodied oily white. On the palate it is much drier than what I was expecting from the nose. An ideal match with Asian foods so try it with some spice instead of your usual cold beer. Tried, tested and passed with flying colours when we had it with Evelyn's slow-cooked baby back ribs a few week ago. Jean Trimbach recommends it with more traditional Alsatian dishes such as baked hams and strong cheeses. Retailing at €17.99 and if you can wangle the recipe from Evelyn for those ribs - a definite bargain!

Till Next time

Clare
CELLARS,NAAS ROAD

Trimbach Muscat 2007 Alsace,France

Alsace sits high in the northeast corner of France and boarders Germany and Switzerland.

Sheltered by the Vosges mountains to the west and against the Rhine river to the east.The shape of the bottles gives a clue to the turbulent past of the region.


Wine producers in this northern corner of France have suffered through the Napoleonic War,the Franco-PrussianWar ,World War I and World War II and its last annexation before finally being returned to French ownership when the war ended.

In fact Jean Trimbach`s uncle served voluntarily in the French army and was then conscripted into the German army when Alsace was annexed by Hitler during World War II.

The Germans maintain that the natural boundry for Germany is actually the Voges mountains while the French maintain it is the Rhine river and seeing as the Germans lost the war,the Rhine it is, and Alsace is officially French!
Riquewihr 1942

However when you visit there you cannot deny that in addition to French there are also German and Swiss influences on the region. Alsace is a beautiful area full of small, historic towns with ancient half-timbered houses like something out of the Hanzel and Gretel or Heidi books and has quite dramatic scenery.
But ultimately Alsace to me is like a little country itself .It is just Alsace.. a hybrid of the countries on its borders.

The food certainly also has German/Swiss influence and while visiting there I found it hard to escape a meal that did not feature ham,gammon or pork ribs.However they do a thing called a tarte flambee which is the thinnest pizza that you can image baked in a wood fired oven topped with creme fraiche,white cheese ,white onions and surprise surprise small pieces of rasher(!)Served piping hot directly from the oven... it is sublime, in fact I could live on it.

Indeed, Alsace is home to the two longest-running family businesses in all France:Domaine Trimbach and Domaine Hugel,in operation since the 17th century.The Trimbach winery(pictured left)who makes this Muscat is run by two brothers Pierre who looks after winemaking and Jean in charge of marketing.They are the 12th generation of this family making these wines.

To quote Jean :‘The key to our continuity and success is the family.We are all closely connected with the business and with our wines. This is very important if you want to build for the long term." Here, the long term means centuries!


By the way they have a very strange habit of singing badly in Alsace and Jean is one of the worst offenders! He "very" frequently sings.. to the tune of My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean:

My bottle lies over the ocean,
My bottle lies over the sea,

My bottle lies over the ocean
Oh Trimbach my bottle to me. Trim-bach,Oh Trimbach,

Trimbach my bottle to meeee.
Trim-bach,Oh Trimbach,
Oh Trimbach my bottle to me.

Even in the local bars you see families and friends having a drink and singing away,as happy as Larry... but completely out of tune!.In my head I have decided that it must be something to do with the war because maybe they didnt know who was for the French or for the Germans so when they were socializing the only safe option was to sing

Anyway to the wine itself...unlike many Muscats, it is relatively dry. The highly-scented nose leads into a flavour so fruity that you almost think you are eating ripe grapes.Believe it or not Muscat is one of the few grapes whose taste remains unaltered when vinified into wine.

Made with two different types of Muscat both of which have the distinctive grapey flavour.Muscat Ottonel brings the roundness and the softness and Muscat d'Alsace brings the natural acidity.

Serve it as an aperitif, but it is also excellent with asparagus, melon or smoked fishes.

This is a very approachable number which appeals to most wine drinkers.Obviously great with cheese based pizza and all spicy foods in the classical sense like sausages,salami ,ribs etc so an ideal quaffer for outdoor eating especially any thing with ham!
Remember the traditional Irish salad...the 2 rolls of ham,one fresh tomatoe and one hard boiled egg cut exactly in half ,Irish lettuce, homemade potatoe salad and the Chef Salad Cream as opposed to mayonnaise on the side ..oh yeah and don`t forget the scallion garnish and if you want to be really posh a single pink radish..

Get out the Hawaiian Tropical and you are all set for retro Irish Al Fresco!

Prost!

Evelyn

THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

CONSUME AND ENJOY IN MODERATION

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