Clos St Hune Riesling Vendanges Tardives
⏳ Drinking Window
2015 - 2050
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Pan-seared foie gras, Roasted duck with orange glaze, Aged Munster cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
The legendary Clos Sainte Hune is a tiny 1.67-hectare monopole within the Rosacker Grand Cru in Hunawihr, held by the Trimbach family for over two hundred years. While the classic dry Clos Sainte Hune is already considered by many to be the finest Riesling on Earth, in exceptionally rare and favorable vintages, Trimbach crafts an elusive 'Vendanges Tardives' (Late Harvest) expression. This wine is born from grapes left on the vine to develop noble rot (botrytis) or shrivel to intense concentration. Rejecting the 'Grand Cru' designation on the label out of historical pride, Trimbach lets the terroir speak for itself. The limestone-rich soils of the Clos impart a profound, chalky minerality that perfectly counters the natural sweetness of the late-harvest fruit, resulting in a masterpiece of tension, opulence, and crystalline purity.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1626 in Riquewihr and later relocated to Ribeauvillé, Maison Trimbach represents thirteen generations of unyielding devotion to Alsatian viticulture. The estate spans over 60 hectares across premier terroirs along the Ribeauvillé fault line, notably in Ribeauvillé, Bergheim, and Hunawihr, where complex Muschelkalk limestone, marl, and sandstone soils intersect with a sheltered semi-continental climate. Following decades of sustainable management, Trimbach achieved official organic certification across all estate holdings and partner grower parcels in 2023. Winemaking philosophy hinges on an uncompromising pursuit of balance, tension, and gastronomic dryness: fruit undergoes gentle pressing, parcel-by-parcel temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel and neutral casks, and absolute prevention of malolactic fermentation, accompanied by patient bottle aging prior to commercial release. Celebrated worldwide for crystalline structure and ageworthiness, the house benchmarks include the monumental single-terroir Riesling Clos Sainte Hune from the Rosacker lieu-dit, the venerable Cuvée Frédéric Emile, and exquisitely sculpted Grand Cru releases such as Mandelberg and Schlossberg.
🍇 Grapes
Riesling
🍷 ABV
12.5% - 13.5%