Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles Hors Choix
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 15 to 40+ years from the vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Foie gras, Roquefort blue cheese, apricot tart
✨ Technical Specifications
Maison Trimbach's 'Hors Choix' represents the absolute pinnacle of Alsatian sweet winemaking. This ultra-rare Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN) is crafted only in exceptional vintages where the autumn conditions allow for the perfect development of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) on the Gewurztraminer grapes. The term 'Hors Choix' translates to 'beyond choice,' signifying an elite selection process where pickers meticulously harvest only the most perfectly shriveled, botrytized berries in successive passes through the vineyards. Eschewing modern shortcuts, Trimbach vinifies this nectar to preserve its legendary precision, balancing opulent sweetness with a vibrant, mineral-driven acidity. It is a wine of historical reverence, embodying the patience and extreme viticultural risks taken in Alsace's finest terroirs.
🍾 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
Gewurztraminer
🍷 ABV
11-12.5%