West in Franken is the Buntsandstein-area. The main part of this area is from around Bürgstadt and north along the
river almost to Aschaffenburg. There are vines north of this also. But from Hörstein and further north the soil is not longer part of the
Trias, but consists of slate, quartz and gneiss. The Buntsandstein-area also stretches further east all the way to Homburg, where the soil
changes to Muschelkalk.
The steep and warm Klingenberger Schlossberg.
Weingut Rudolf Fürst is situated in Bürgstadt where you find the great vineyard of Centgrafenberg, probably the finest of the area.
Fürst also has vines in another great site; the Klingenberger Schlossberg a few miles further north. This is red wine-area. The soil suits
the spätburgunder and the frühburgunder. They make here fuller bodied red wines than anywhere else in Germany. And no one makes them better
than Paul Fürst. The selection we tasted shows red wines that have a body and intensity that goes beyond other top red wines from Germany.
Also from Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg Paul Fürst makes riesling, silvaner and weissburgunder that is light and elegant styled with fine and
crisp acidity. Fürst also has vineyards further east in Volkacher Karthäuser, on muschelkalk-soil. Here he makes more traditional
Franken-whites from silvaner and weissburgunder.
On a short stop in September we tasted through these wines:
Silvaner "Pur mineral" 2007
From muschelkalk. Straw colour. Quite typical silvaner on the nose. Vegetal, chalky. Simple and slightly fat silvaner in the mouth with a
fine, but simple fruit. Fine acidity. Typical Franken silvaner.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg silvaner 2007
Straw colour. More mineral nose. White fruits, citrus on the nose. Slimmer style in the mouth. Crisp with a mineral approach. Slight hints
of earth and spice. Good acidity and length. Finer silvaner with more depth. Good.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg riesling 2007
Fine and underripe nose. Flowers, citrus and minerality. Dry riesling in the mouth with a light touch of residual sugar. Crisp and acidic
style. Clean and citrusy with a fine minerality. Almost steely. Good length. Very good riesling.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg weissburgunder 2007
The nose shows a lot of oak. Spicy oak with hints of yellow fruits. Flowers. Fullbodied and oaky weissburgunder in the mouth. There is good
fruit underneath here, but as of today the oak is a little too much. Try aging it. The acidity and structure is very nice. Good, but needs
aging.
Spätburgunder Tradition 2006
Aged in large casks. The nose shows anise and red fruits. Medium bodied spätburgunder in the mouth. Acid-driven, red berried wine with
hints of anise. Young fruit. Fine acidity and a slight dryness in the finish.Decent everyday spätburgunder.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg frühburgunder 2006
The Frühburgunder is a mutation of the spätburgunder and is today considered an own variety. The nose shows dark berries, oak and spice.
Fullbodied and quite juicy german red i the mouth. Much dark fruits. Some oak. But uncomplicated style and lacking in depth. Fine acidity
and the same little dry finish. Good.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg spätburgunder 2006
The nose red berries and fine floral notes. Hints of oak and vanilla. Fullbodied spätburgunder in the mouth with lots of fruit. Elegant
and floral. Fine depth. Yet it has quite some oak and vanilla-notes. Needs time to integrate. Good acidity and a finish that shows some oak-tannin.
A little hard. Great spätburgunder with a depth that I have not found elsewhere in Germany.
Parzival 2006
Parzival is a blend of spätburgunder, Domina and Cabernet Dorsa. It is aged in barrique for 12 months. The colour is dark violet-red. The
nose shows sweet dark berries, ink and anise. It is a fuller bodied wine in the mouth with a simpler and dark berried fruit. Some oak, but
quite integrated. Decent acidity and some tannins in the back. Fine wine, but not as exciting.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg riesling auslese 2007
Raisiny and botrytis notes in the nose. But also fine underripe fruit. Flowers and hint of apricot. Fullbodied riesling in the mouth.
Sweet, but with a fine acidity and a clean and pure taste. Raisiny fruit. Shows botrytis. Flowers and citrus. Long taste. This is a
great auslese. Pure in the fruit, intense yet quite slim auslese.
Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg.
This ended this small tasting at Weingut Rudolf Fürst. There was a little hurry as the spätburgunder in Klingenberger Schlossberg was being
harvested this day. The tasting showed to me that first of all Paul Fürst makes some of the very best spätburgunders in the whole of
Germany. They have a depth and intensity that I have not found anywhere else. The do have their portion of oak, perhaps a little more than
I want in my spätburgunder. But I am sure it will integrate with time. The rieslings from Centgrafenberg are pure, intense, rich in
acidity and slim in style. They are very fine indeed.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-08
