The Trimbach Riesling Mandelberg Grand Cru 2021 is a taut, bone-dry Alsace Riesling with citrus drive and a chalky mineral edge rather than richness. The cool, wet 2021 growing season, rescued by a sunny autumn, has given a wine of unusual nerve and lower weight than Mandelberg often delivers.

Lemon zest, white grapefruit and orange blossom lead the aroma, with green apple skin, crushed stone and a faint waxy note that suggests good things with time in bottle. The palate is dry and linear, carrying lime, quince and underripe pineapple across a fine, salty core.

Grown on the limestone-marl and rolled pebble soils of the south-southeast facing Mandelberg slope at Mittelwihr, the wine has firm acidity holding everything in a straight line, with a slightly grippy, gravelly texture through the middle. The finish is long, dry and citrus-driven, closing on stony bitterness rather than fruit sweetness.

Serve it with Alsace classics — choucroute, a tarte flambée, or roast pork with mustard — though it is just as good with steamed snapper, oysters, sashimi or a plate of soft goat's cheese and rye bread. The acid line cuts through anything rich or creamy.

Drinking well from 2025, with the structure to develop for a decade or more. Give younger bottles half an hour in the glass, or decant, as this Grand Cru Riesling can be reserved on opening.