Good evening all,
Following are a handful of TNs selected from various recent events. I am still putting everything in CT for anyone who was there for any of these and wants to see the others- but for here I am trimming it down to notes I think will be of potential interest to many.
2017 Trimbach Riesling
pale yellow color, sedate nose of earth, honeysuckle, quince, on the palate good weight, viscous, limes, sharp grey stone notes on the fine long dry finish, drinking well and should benefit further from a brief cellar rest.
***, now to 2025
2017 Trimbach Riesling Reserve
pale yellow color, a brighter and livelier notes than the regular Riesling, earth and flower notes- but also orange tones, on the palate bright and vibrant, sweet citrus notes, hints of honey, great depth and a good firm structure leading into a long dry finish.
***+, now to 2030
2016 Trimbach Gewurztraminer
bright polished nose, figs, sweet citrus notes, on the palate lovely smoke notes, rounded white stones, floral hints, citrus fruits and a very long dry finish dominated by lime flavored acids, a really good vintage for this wine.
***+, now to 2030
2011 Trimbach Riesling cuvee Frederic Emile
tight nose, great mineral tension, tangerines, on the palate almost completely shut down, quite sweet, fine length, light smoke notes and a full array of full-bodied orchard and citrus fruit in a primary state and largely hidden under the structure, slight bit of warmth on the tail end, this seems to be in a short term shut down versus being closed for business- so I look forward to revisiting in a few months, very hard to read at this point but clearly this is going to be a big boy even by FE standards with lots of everything presented in what I expect will be a more dramatic and decadent package than usual, I look forward to revisting this soon in a more controlled setting.
[****+] potential
2014 Trimbach Riesling Clos St. Hune
even more closed down than the 2011 Frederic Emile today, heft and power evident on the nose- but little detail showing, what is present is a very intricate web of digitally defined savory sand-like grains of honeysuckle and stone, marvelous tension, on the palate a very light honey note leading into hints of a massive blaring cry of primary fruit, grey stones, blood orange, a piercing depth in the middle, sensational long tight dry finish that is rivetingly seamless, it has been a while since I had a Hune at release aside from a magnum of the 2013 earlier this year that was just as expressive as it was impressive- but I do not recall one ever being so tight, perhaps having been opened 8 hours prior is having an effect, either way I look forward to revisiting this again in the fall at length starting right after opening in the hopes of getting a better read, for now this feels like a very classic expression of Hune with a bit more volume to it than usual.
(*****), 2030+
2008 Philipponnat Clos de Goisses Extra Brut
bright young yellow color, open and broad nose dominated by bread notes, deep fruit core, on the palate very open but also very primary and not evening beginning to cream out, finely detailed mousse notes overlay a large and primary lemon-driven fruit, apples, pears, lush, rolling, luxurious, with time honeysuckle notes and fiery citrus tones, length to burn, after 2 hours it shuts down and retreats behind the “lemon wall” as have many 2008s at this stage, in time this will be utterly magnificent.
(*****), 2035+, probably approachable much sooner- but I think a long wait for the full experience in all its detailed glory
2016 Cascina delle Rose Barbaresco Tre Stelle
deep red purple color, a tight nose showing a fine breadth of dark spices, on the palate deep blackberry and cherry fruit, waves of herb and bramble notes coated with ripe fruit, quite firm and long finish, with time a great deal of complexity emerges- tea leaves, exotic spices, pointed little dots of complexity giving texture to an alluring and velvety fruit base, where the 2013 was a lovely mid-weight luncheon wine this is more of muscled panther ready to pounce on a large steak, an exceptional wine- all it needs is a brief rest in the cellar.
(***), 2025-2040
1971 Paolo Cordero Barolo Monfalletto
turbid, pale rim with medium red center, at first a very musty nose gradually evolving into a strong moss note, extremely detailed and persistent spice notes and fresh pine needles, lacey in their presentation despite their persistence, on the palate a gracefully aged cherry fruit that endures beyond expectations, cloves, a bit of polish, with time a more pronounced animale, opened about an hour prior to tasting- it was still improving 4 hours later as dinner concluded, a thoroughly elegant structure and presentation- brilliantly harmonizing a great many assertive little details.
****, ready to drink
1994 Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Hochbenn Muskateller Trockenbeerenauslese
I am sure I am not the only one who remembers this wine with a smile- at release it was so lovely and so penetratingly deep, and at the price it seemed something really pretty to enjoy young. It may not have developed much since then, but it remains much as it was at release- kind of like Penfold’s Grange. Ideally things transform, but for things that start off showing their best- staying there is a pretty good outcome as well.
deep orange-brown color- just as it appeared at release, peaches and dried apricots on the nose, on the palate viscous and as penetrating and youthfully aggressive as it was at release, dates, figs, limes, textured, thick honey throughout but not cloying, good length, much as I remember it from years ago but with some subtle development, seems it could last forever.
****, now to 2034
1996 Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Fronhof Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese
Where the 1994 Muskateller TBA served alongside has held beautifully since release, this has developed from a precocious beauty into a dessert wine that can legitimately be compared with those of the most storied names in Germany.
medium pink-orange color, a rich nose presented effortlessly, apricots, pears, rose petals, on the palate succulent, honeyed, exceptional persistence and depth- it sinks into the palate, pears, white flowers, roses, all gently calling in full voice, this is so sweet that at moments it seems like it might become cloying- but it never does though it walks that line with millimeters to spare, fine long finish with substantial acids generously coated in honey and sweet fruits, the experience of this invokes images of a rose garden overloaded with a variety of large blossoms in all the most vibrant colors- stunningly beautiful and almost overwhelming, but always the sheer beauty of it brings one back to earth, this wine ranks among the greatest TBAs I have ever tasted, while it does not have quite the digital detail of many such wines- in all other respects it is as good as it gets, and this is worth the special effort to find. For my part I am kicking myself for drinking through the case I got at release for about $22 a bottle in the late 90s. I have always been a great fan of this wine, but I foolishly never imagined the great heights it would achieve in time.
*****, now to 2040+
1995 Chateau Lynch-Bages
good deepish red color, very young still, bell pepper and peppery spices on the assertive nose, on the palate this seems even larger than two years ago- what was at release an ethereal mid-weight has now become a Lynch-Bages of a scale similar to the great 1989 itself and certainly surpassing the weight of the 1990 and 1996 though stylistically it is more of a true classic like the 1990, an explosion of ripe cassis on the mid palate with secondary development and lovely cedar notes, but then- as with the bottle a couple of years ago- it very quickly flashes into a painfully hard and dry shrill finish, still quite a lot of tannin here, I have never seen a vintage behave like this, as with the 1995 Chateau Margaux tasted in December this starts off as a very large scale wine with beautifully pure fruit and then just immediately snaps into a really hard and dry tail end, to be fair there might be some personal preference in this- because others at the table, while conceding the point on the abrupt shift into a short finish, found the wine quite remarkable and enjoyed drinking it, I certainly agree it is remarkable to start- but I am unsure what the future may bring, with the 1995 Margaux I shifted course from “drink ASAP” to the possibility that these 95s might fare better with further extended bottle age, I say that because while there is some secondary development there are also unresolved tannins and fruit that is growing in weight and stature, so while it is a gamble- the payoff could be quite handsome if the 95s get themselves back into balance in another 10-15 years (which is how long I think we will have to wait for wines of this caliber).
***** for the first half of the experience, ** for the second half- 2030+ to see if time is kind in the rebalancing act needed.
1995 Chateau Trotanoy
A very different experience from the Lynch-Bages tasted alongside (fellow CTers- if interested, my current take on what to do with 1995 is embedded in that tasting note), deep purple red young color, pepper and plums on the nose, on the palate a hint of secondary development with some lovely forest floor notes, cherries, pretty but also still primary and seeming half-asleep, where the 95 Lynch-Bages tonight (and 1995 Margaux in December) suddenly switched into a hard finish, this one shifts quickly into a very neutral state, the finish is there and a bit clipped- but rather than being harsh it is just very quiet, no harsh acids or tannins- just a soft landing if you will, I have never seen anything quite like it, this is one where I would definitely wait another decade at least before trying again since it has not gotten harsh yet on the finish- and is still in development, so I have more hope here than for other wines, but time will tell.
At best **** eventually, it is less extreme right now, but this does not have the 5 star potential of Lynch-Bages or Margaux if this vintage ends up coming out well balanced when it finally matures.