Alsace Riesling Clos Sainte Hune 2020 Domaine Trimbach

The Riesling Clos Sainte-Hune 2020 from Maison Trimbach is without question one of the greatest dry white wines of France, and perhaps the most celebrated and sought-after Riesling in the world. Having built the reputation of Trimbach itself, this dry white, refined and marked by a superb mineral finish, remains one of the most sought-after Alsatian whites globally. Only around 7,000 bottles produced each year, with every vintage becoming an immediate object of desire for collectors and enthusiasts worldwide. A great wine already approachable yet with genuine subtlety and complexity, displaying aromas of flint and petrol notes.

The terroir of Clos Sainte-Hune

This Clos, owned by the Trimbach family for over two centuries, covers 1.67 hectares within the Grand Cru Rosacker at Hunawihr. The vineyard enjoys south to south-southeast exposure on a subsoil dominated by Muschelkalk limestone (shell limestone) and yellow limestone. The deep, calcareous soil provides good water and mineral resources, ensuring the wine's acidity remains ripe and powerful. This Muschelkalk, composed of marine shell fossils deposited over 200 million years ago, is one of Alsace's most precious and rare substrates, conferring upon the Riesling a saline, iodine-tinged and smoky minerality that is the absolute and unforgettable signature of Clos Sainte-Hune. The vineyard has been farmed organically since 2008, after years of sustainable viticulture. No pesticides or insecticides have been used at Trimbach. Sheep graze the parcel in winter. Production typically reaches around 7,000 bottles. The wine carries no Grand Cru designation, a deliberate choice that in no way diminishes the recognition the wine enjoys, so eloquent is its quality. Grapes are crushed and pressed, vinified in stainless steel and old wooden foudres, with no malolactic fermentation. This absence of malolactic conversion is a fundamental and deliberate decision, preserving the Riesling's natural acidity in all its vibrancy, tension and minerality.

Tasting profile

A great wine already approachable with genuine subtlety and complexity, displaying aromas of flint and petrol notes. The nose is highly mineral, revealing a stony, shell-limestone terroir, the Muschelkalk of Hunawihr. On the palate, a pronounced smoky terroir expression emerges immediately, with magnificent acidity unfolding progressively. The warm and generous 2020 vintage allowed the Clos to develop remarkable fruity maturity and aromatic concentration, tempered by altitude and the parcel's cool microclimate. Aromas of preserved lemon, white peach, grapefruit and white flowers intertwine with a minerality of slate, chalk and smoky flint, the absolute shell-limestone signature of Muschelkalk. Year after year, Clos Sainte-Hune is a wine of great class, refined and elegant, with well-ripened fruit and pronounced minerality that give it its unique character. The finish is of unequalled length and persistence. Clos Sainte-Hune does not reach its peak until eight to ten years after bottling, best enjoyed between 2028 and 2045.

The house

Established in Alsace since 1626, Maison Trimbach quickly forged a reputation across the region and internationally, particularly under the stewardship of Frédéric-Émile Trimbach in the late nineteenth century. Although the estate is situated on magnificent terroirs, some classified as Grand Cru, the pursuit of appellation classification holds little interest for the Trimbach family, who prefer to work with refined blends marketed under house names. The current generation of Trimbach, the 13th, comprising Anne, Julien, Frédérique and Pauline, follows the same path of perpetual research into balance as their predecessors.

Food pairings

This Clos Sainte-Hune pairs beautifully with noble fish accompanied by oyster juice beurre blanc and Robuchon purée, glazed eel, royal dorade carpaccio, scallops with caviar, Bresse chicken or truffle-based dishes. It also complements lobster à la nage, wild turbot in champagne sauce or sole meunière. Serve between 10 and 12 °C, with 30 minutes of decanting recommended for younger vintages, and it will gradually reveal the full grandeur, smoky minerality and crystalline tension of one of the world's greatest dry white wines.