1990 - Riesling Clos St Hune, Trimbach

The 1990 Riesling Clos Ste. Hune is a timeless jewel of a wine. There is not much else to say. Utterly magnificent in the glass, the 1990 is extraordinarily beautiful from the very first taste. The passage of time has added shades of nuance, but above all else, the 1990 stands out for its incredible freshness and energy. The tightly wound finish and overall vibrancy both suggest the 1990 will drink well for a period measured in decades, not years. Endless and ethereal, with striking inner perfume and sublime layers of unctuous fruit intermingled with beams of minerality, the 1990 simply has it all.

Tasted from a magnum during a dinner at the Auberge de l'Ill, the 1990 Riesling Clos Ste Hune shows a golden-yellow color and is enormously deep, rich and elegant on the nose, with spicy limestone notes. On the palate, it is full-bodied, powerful and intense thanks to its enormously salty minerality and density. The 1990 may not be completely dry, but it is enormously persistent, multilayered and still very young. Undoubtedly, this is a great, historic Clos Ste Hune. Tasted at the Auberge de l'Ill in November 2024.

Very ripe vintage. They made one small cask of sélection de grains nobles in 1990 but decided to blend it with the drier majority of the wine. RS 4 g/l for the blend. It was apparently accepted to qualify as a vendanges tardives but they decided against it. Probably 14 or 14.5%. Magnum that they never commercialised, bottled just for the family. Pungent and glorious with a dry, but not dried out, finish. Long and vibrant still but I’d say it’s probably at peak. Truly beautiful perfume, for lovers of great Riesling. (JR)