Riesling Vendanges Tardives
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 10 to 25 years from vintage release, with the finest vintages cellaring gracefully for several decades.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Munster cheese, foie gras, pear tart
✨ Technical Specifications
Maison Trimbach’s Riesling Vendanges Tardives is a masterclass in Alsatian late-harvest winemaking, produced only in exceptional years when autumn conditions allow the grapes to over-ripen on the vine. The term 'Vendanges Tardives' translates to 'late harvest,' a designation legally defined in Alsace since 1984, requiring exceptionally high natural sugar levels at harvest. Trimbach's signature style shines through even in this sweet category; while the wine possesses luscious residual sugar and complex notes of honey, candied citrus, and petrol, it is defined by a striking, spine-tingling acidity that keeps the palate remarkably fresh and balanced. Sourced from selected old-vine parcels in Ribeauvillé, the grapes sometimes benefit from the onset of noble rot, adding layers of exotic complexity. This rare cuvée represents the pinnacle of patience, tradition, and the Trimbach family's refusal to compromise on structural elegance.
🍾 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% - 13.5%