On September 17th 2008 we went to visit Horst Sauer in Escherndorf. I had earlier tasted Horst Sauer's wines a few times and had often
been impressed with the quality of what I tasted. Especially the high-end-silvaners was very good indeed. Escherndorf is a small village
with many wine-growers. It is on the north side of a huge bend in the Main and is totally surrounded by vines. There are today three
einzellagen in Escherndorf. Lump is the best and makes up the vines of the lower part of the huge bending slope that faces more or
less directly south. Higher up on the slope you find Fürstenberg that also stretches further to the south-west and includes those
vines that are more easternly facing. On the top of the slope and to the west of the village you find Berg. It should also be noted
that the einzellagen in Escherndorf have a quite different naming pre and after the 1971 German wine-law. Before this you will find many
more names.
Escherndorf and it's vines.
Finding Horst Sauer in Escherndorf is very easy. It is a very small village and Bocksbeutelstrasse is one of the main streets. Located
among this street you find many of the best producers of the village. Horst Sauer is today the qualitatively leader in Escherndorf and to
me one of the very best producers in all of Franken. They are a VdP-member. The daughter of Horst Sauer, Sandra, is today working together
with Horst on the winemaking and thus carrying the tradition further. Horst Sauer is today concentrating more on the sweet wines. The firm
own a total of 15 hekatar of vines in Escherndorf's three einzellagen; Lump, Fürstenberg, Berg and in Untereisenheimer Sonnenberg. Silvaner,
Müller-Thurgau and Riesling are the most grown varieties. On our visit we tasted through the new vintage which was 2007, with a few wines
from 2006.
Silvaner brut 2006
This is the newest vintage for sale. It is a traditionally made sekt with emphasis on tasting the grape through the method. On the nose
this is quite obvious with Silvanerish notes of some leafs, flowers and chalk. Only lighter hints of yeast. In the mouth it is also a
vinous drink with a fine mousse. Flowery and a bit simple fruit with a fine and matching acidity. Good, simpler style sparkling wine that
is a fine deal for the price. 11,50 €.
Escherndorfer Fürstenberg müller-thurgau kabinett trocken 2007
Typical and aromatic nose. Spice, flowers and with a fine stoney touch to it. Light and refreshing müller-thurgau in the mouth with clean
spicey, flowery aromatics. Good acidity and medium length. Simple and pure style. One for the summer. Good. Price: 5,50 €.
Escherndorfer Fürstenberg silvaner kabinett trocken 2007
A quite appley Silvaner with fine mineral depth. Quite fullbodied kabinett in the mouth, but light on it's feet. Structured, fine acidity.
Intense mineral style. Long taste. Pure and fine style. Great wine for the price. 6,60€
Escherndorfer Fürstenberg Müller-Thurgau spätlese trocken 2007
A little more colour in this wine. Aromatic, spicey nose with hints of flowers and a touch of honeyed ripeness. Fuller in the mouth with
more ripeness in the fruit. Pure and aromatic style. Quite expressive. A touch of honey. A little fatter style with the acids not so
present. Shorter taste. Good. Price: 7,50€.
Escherndorfer Fürstenberg blauer silvaner spätlese trocken 2007
Blauer silvaner is a very rare grape with a total planting of 20 hektars, mostly in Franken. It was found in a vineyard of Schloss
Sommerhausen, who makes a sweet wine from this grape. It's relation to Silvaner is uncertain. It could be an older relative. Horst
Sauer's blauer silvaner-vines was bought from Schloss Sommerhausen. The colour is deeper with a golden/brownish hint. In the mouth it has
the certain leafyness that the silvaner has. But it has a touch of motor-oil-feel on the nose. Reminds me a bit of roter veltliner.
It is a fullbodied wine in the mouth with some fat. Lightly peachy fruit with again that oil-touch. Fine
acidity and length. Interesting and different wine. Very good. Price: 9,70€.
Escherndorfer Lump silvaner spätlese trocken 2007
This is a very typical silvaner from the muschelkalk-area. Intense and expressive. Leafy and chalky and with this vineyard's great depth.
Very fine minerality. Pretty nose. Fullbodied and structured wine in the mouth. Some more fat and concentration, but fine and pure
style. Great wine. Price: 9,70€
Escherndorfer Lump riesling spätlese trocken 2007
Aromatic riesling nose. Peach, underripe flowers. Minerality. Fine and quite slim riesling in the mouth with a light touch of residual
sugar. Young and flowery fruit with a fine minerality underneath. Crisp acidity and more structure. Long taste. Needs more time. Very
good wine. Price: 11,70€
Sehnsucht silvaner trocken 2006
This is a silvaner in barrique. 30% of the juice spends 1 year in two-year old barriques. In the nose it shows mostly the typical silvaner-notes
of leafs, chalk, but with a touch of honey and vanilla. It is a fruity wine with more ripeness, that probably comes more from the vintage.
In the mouth it is a powerful wine, fatter and with a creamy and rounder mouthfeel. There is a good complexity and the fruit does dominate
over the oak. It is a bit fruitier in style with a creamy lightly oaky background. Medium acidity. Some vanilla on the finish. This is a
good wine, but to me slightly less interesting than the Lump spätlese. Needs a little more time. Price: 16,50€.
Escherndorfer Lump silvaner spätlese Grosses gewächs trocken 2007
More intense nose on this one with a bit more obvious ripeness. But fine-tuned with a mineral approach and great depth. It is a powerful
dry silvaner with lots of concentration. A little fatter style with riper fruit and a touch lower acidity in the balance. The fruit
is very fine. Grape-typical and with the fine hints of the muschelkalk. The alcohol is noticable a little higher than the normal
spätlese in the finish. But this is a better wine due to it's concentration and depth. Great wine. Price: 17€.
Escherndorfer Lump riesling spätlese Grosses gewächs trocken 2007
This also shows more ripeness on the nose. But again fine-tuned and intense nose. Peach, minerals. Great depth. In the mouth this is a
intense riesling with some residual sugar noticable. Fresh and crisp acidity. Mineral approach and very good depth. Quite seemless Franken
riesling with a refreshing and long taste. Great wine and to me it is a tad better than the Silvaner GG. Price: 17,50€.
Spätburgunder spätlese trocken 2006
Horst Sauer makes a spätburgunder in a more modest style than normal for Germany these days. There is only one cuvee and it is made in
a lighter and uncomplcated style. Which also means it is purer with not that much oak present. To me this is a good desition. The
'06-vintage shows a clean red colour. The nose shows red fruits with hints of anise and spice. Only a light touch of oak. In the mouth this
is a medium bodied and pure fruity styled spätburgunder with fine hits of anise. Clean and quite simple style. The '06 could have been a
little higher in acidity. Which is probably a thing of the vintage. Good everyday spätburgunder and fine for the price. 13€.
Escherndorfer Lump scheurebe spätlese 2007
11,5% alcohol. Typical scheurebe in the mouth. Fruity and tropical style. In the mouth this is also a very fruity and aromatic scheurebe
with a light sweetness and a great structure. The acidity makes the wine have a wonderful refreshing taste. The fruit is pure, but quite
simple. A joyful wine. Good. Price: 9,50€.
Escherndorfer Lump silvaner auslese 2007
8% alc/vol. Yellow colour. The nose shows honey and citrus. Hints of botrytis, raisins and also some leafy silvanerish notes. Sweet wine
in the mouth with some fatness. Honeyed fruit. Yet remains quite silvanerish with hints of chalk. Fresh style with good acidity. Good
length. This is a great wine and value. Price: 15€ / 0,5 L.
Escherndorfer Lump riesling beerenauslese 2006
Raisiny and botrytised riesling on the nose. Fullbodied and sweet beerenauslese in the mouth with lots of botrytised. But very fine
botrytis from a great selection. Honeyed and raisiny fruit. Young and needs time. The mouthfeel is creamy and with medium acids. This is
a very good beerenauslese from '06. Fine price. 31€ / 0,5L.
Escherndorfer Lump riesling trockenbeerenauslese 2006
6,5% alc/vol. 230 g/L residual sugar. Golden colour. Very intense nose. Honeyed and loads of botrytis. Raisins. Fullbodied and fat style
in the mouth with lots of sweetness. Quite aromatic with lots of fruit showing. Quite honeyed and with lots of botrytis. But again this
is clean and fine botrytis from a good selection. The wine has better balance than the BA with a finer acidity and citrus-notes towards
end. A great TBA with a relatively low price. 58€ / 0,5L.
Escherndorfer Lump riesling trockenbeerenauslese 2007
6% alc/vol. This wine was already bottled, but not yet released for sale. 320 g/L. residual sugar. Darker colour. Even more intense and
botrytised nose showing more raisins, citrus and a hint of caramel. It is very powerful TBA in the mouth. Very sweet and thick style.
The fruit is a bit closed. No doubt highly botrytised and perhaps with more depth than the '06. But as for today not so easy to taste.
Fine acidity and length. A great TBA.
So this ended the tasting in a great way. I was surprised to see the high quality of the sweet wines. Horst Sauer is dedicated to the
making of these wines nowadays and it shows in the quality. Also the other wines were great. The wines from Escherndorf are naturally
expressive in style and perhaps quite easy to like. That does not say that they are not interesting wines. They do possess a great depth
and especially the wines from the Lump shows what a great einzellage this is. With this tasting Horst Sauer places himself as one of the
top three growers in Franken. It should be noted that the prices of the wines here are low for their quality - also compared to other
top growers in the region.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting notes: Sep-08
