1996 Trimbach Riesling Clos St. Hune

Trimbach Clos St. Hune Riesling is perhaps one of my favorite wines. There's a consistancy of terroir year after year that's not found in many wines. I usually open a bottle on New Years Day to drink with Charcouterie. I had two bottles of the 1996 left so I decided to give it the ten year test. The wine is a pale gold in the glass. The first impression in the nose is of limes and minerals then a fairly strong whiff of petrol (Diesel fuel) comes through. The wine is fairly aggressive on the palate with a bracing acidity that rips across the palate like a squirt of fresh lime juice. After the initial citrus attack, there's a deep minerality and a taste of cold steel and ends with a note of petrol. Unto themselves, these smells and tastes might seem offensive in a wine but this wine blends them together into a focused sensual melange of aromas and flavors. Ultra dry yet bursting with flavor and texture. A+ on the Dale Scale.