2005 Riesling, Cuvée Frédéric Emile, Trimbach, Alsace

The 2005 Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile follows the lead of the reserve bottling in offering palpable extract yet elegance and refinement. Peach, apricot, apricot kernel, lime, and pungent floral notes in the nose lead to a juicy mouthful of citrus and pit fruit with further invigoration added by accents of salt, huckleberry and toasted pumpkin seeds. Blazingly bright in its citricity and palate-staining in its fruit, nut, and mineral intensity, this displays an amazing tiny-berry concentration and utmost clarity when one considers its having been rained on early in October tribute to an impeccable viticultural regime as well as the breezy location (on the Osterberg) of these vines. It wont be released until 2010, by which time it can be expected to have shut down and re-opened, as well as I hasten to add to promise further richness and complexity over the following 12-15 years. Chalk dust, sea breeze and lime in the nose of their 2004 Riesling Reserve set the rather austere tone for this densely-concentrated wine. A hint of muskiness signals an exotic aspect that runs right though a minerally-intense finish that really shows the wines ripe but ultra-bright acidity. This (like some of the other 2004s) appears to already be in the process of shutting down a bit, leading me to wonder whether it might hit the market while in a vinous trough.David Schildknecht - 29/02/2008