Riesling Frederic Emile Selection de Grains Nobles
⏳ Drinking Window
2010 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Foie gras, blue cheeses, and fruit-based desserts such as pear or apricot tarts.
✨ Technical Specifications
Named in honor of Frédéric Emile Trimbach, who famously provided the estate with its signature prestige in the late 19th century, this incredibly rare Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN) represents the absolute pinnacle of Alsatian sweet winemaking. While the standard Cuvée Frédéric Emile is celebrated as a bone-dry masterpiece, this SGN version is only crafted in exceptional vintages when the conditions for noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) are flawless. Sourced from the steep, sun-drenched grand cru slopes of Geisberg and Osterberg in Ribeauvillé, where limestone-dominant soils impart intense minerality, the grapes are painstakingly harvested by hand in successive passes ('tries') to select only the most perfectly shriveled, botrytized berries. The resulting nectar is a breathtaking balance of luscious, honeyed sweetness and the searing, vibrant acidity that is the hallmark of the Trimbach style.
🍾 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
7.5-10%