Maison Trimbach : Pinot Gris "Réserve Personnelle" 2018

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Pinot Gris "Réserve Personnelle" 2018 from Maison Trimbach

Tasting

Appearance
The wine displays a pale golden yellow hue with subtle olive-green highlights.

Nose
The nose reveals itself gradually, opening with delicate notes of ripe yellow peaches, white pears and tender apricots. Secondary aromas of white flowers, acacia honey and mineral nuances enrich the bouquet. With aeration, spicy hints of saffron and white pepper emerge, accompanied by a subtle mineral reduction evoking flint, promising excellent aging potential.

Palate
The attack reveals a wine of fine body and assertive presence, with a creamy, voluptuous texture. A slight sensation of residual carbon dioxide brings a sparkling freshness at the start of the tasting. The palate expresses flavors of ripe yellow pears, white peaches, candied ginger and saline notes. Despite its richness and breadth, the wine retains remarkable vivacity thanks to well-integrated acidity that structures the whole. The finish lingers with persistence on spicy saffron notes and a mineral tension that underscores the limestone origins of the terroir.

Food and wine pairings

The Pinot Gris "Réserve Personnelle" 2018 pairs magnificently with foie gras, whether served as a terrine or pan-seared. It also pairs beautifully with shellfish such as lobster in a rich sauce, langoustines or scallops. White meats in cream sauces, particularly veal with mushrooms or poultry in a creamy sauce, make harmonious pairings. This wine also goes well with dishes featuring mild Asian spices, ginger and aromatic herb preparations, as well as truffle-based dishes that echo its mineral and earthy dimension.

Serving and storage

The Pinot Gris "Réserve Personnelle" 2018 can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve until around 2040, with an optimal drinking window starting from 2025. It is recommended to serve it at a temperature between 50 and 54°F to fully appreciate its aromatic complexity and structure.

A powerful and mineral Alsace Pinot Gris from exceptional terroirs

The estate

Founded in 1626 by Jean Trimbach in Riquewihr, Maison Trimbach embodies thirteen generations of winemakers dedicated to excellence. Based in Ribeauvillé since 1920, the estate controls approximately 63 hectares of its own vines and manages 120 hectares in total with its partner growers, all certified organic since 2023. Led today by the twelfth generation, represented by Pierre Trimbach for winemaking and Jean Trimbach for sales, alongside the thirteenth generation with Anne, Julien, Frédérique and Pauline Trimbach, the Maison remains an essential benchmark for Alsace wines. Its philosophy rests on three words: balance, balance, balance. A pioneer in environmental matters, the house eliminated all chemical pesticides as early as 1972 and today holds organic and HVE-3 certification.

The vineyard

The Pinot Gris "Réserve Personnelle" comes from a rigorous selection of the estate's finest plots, notably including the Grand Cru Osterberg. These vines are situated on the Ribeauvillé fault in Alsace, an exceptional geological formation that fractured the Vosges Mountains fifty million years ago, creating a mosaic of terroirs with varied soils. The selected plots rest on complex Muschelkalk-type limestones, rich in fossilized shells, as well as clay-limestone marls that give the wine its characteristic mineral tension. The vines, with an average age exceeding forty-five years, benefit from a semi-continental climate sheltered by the Vosges, with warm, dry summers and bright autumns that promote optimal ripening. The vineyard is managed organically with environmentally respectful practices including cover cropping, mating disruption for pest control and the introduction of sheep for winter maintenance.

The vintage

The 2018 vintage in Alsace was characterized by marked precociousness, with early bud break and high temperatures during the growing season, particularly in summer. Despite significant yields, demanding producers like Trimbach obtained concentrated and structured grapes thanks to water stress that limited vegetative growth and promoted the concentration of sugars and aromatic compounds in the berries. The warm and sunny conditions proved particularly favorable for Pinot Gris, allowing exceptional physiological maturity to be reached while preserving the freshness necessary for the wine's balance.

Winemaking and aging

After manual harvesting and rigorous sorting, the grapes for the Pinot Gris "Réserve Personnelle" 2018 are gently pressed as whole clusters in pneumatic presses. The juices are then transferred by gravity to the cellar for natural settling. Fermentation takes place slowly at controlled temperatures, around 64 to 68°F, in stainless steel tanks or traditional large oak casks, thereby preserving the aromatic purity and vivacity of the wine. Malolactic fermentation is deliberately avoided in order to maintain the natural acidity and mineral tension characteristic of the Trimbach style. The wine is then aged on fine lees for several months, adding complexity and creamy texture without the use of new oak. Bottling takes place relatively early to preserve freshness, followed by cellar aging before release.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Gris.