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Franconia, or so it seems, has been rather neglected by the wine press and the public in recent times. In Focus of the vintage reports by wine journalists, but also of blog posts and forum discussions, focus on other regions. This is quite remarkable, since Franconia has clearly been one of the most dynamic wine regions in Germany in recent years. The connection between tradition and modernity that is so often made in wine literature is probably nowhere as true as here. Nowhere else in Germany is the proportion of bottles with screw caps as high as in Franconia; even the Grosses Gewächse are screw-capped to a large extent. At the same time, however, most of the wines are kept in a rather traditional style, sometimes even completely uncompromisingly committed to the soil and the origin. The only difference is that the term "earthy" wine, which has long been proverbial in Franconia, no longer has to be used to disguise a clumsy rusticity, as was often the case 20 or 30 years ago. The generations of winegrowers who are responsible for vineyards and cellars today are highly trained. Most of them, however, do not use their skills to produce flattering, smooth fruit bombs, just because these are so popular with many consumers, but also wine journalists, at the moment. On the contrary, they strive to bring out the origin and varietal character of their wines as precisely as possible.

Vineyards near Volkach (Photo: DWI)

But perhaps this is precisely the reason why these wines do not always receive the attention they deserve. Flattering or spectacularly fruit-driven wines are hard to find in Franconia. Like the people in Franconia, their wines are sometimes a bit closed, you need time to get to know them and their somewhat edgier style and to discover the subtleties beneath the robust surface - only to expect all the more from them.

The restraint of dry Franconian white wines in terms of fruit and sweetness makes them the most versatile and grateful food companions to be found in Germany. This also applies to Riesling, but even more so to Silvaner. The variety suffers more than any other from the current fruit juice fad in the German wine world, but its distinctly earthy and vegetal nature makes it one of the most valuable and versatile accompaniments to traditional German (as well as Eastern European and also French) cuisine.

2010 was a vintage that still clearly emphasised the somewhat more rustic side of Franconian wine. Those who were fully committed to the vintage produced wines full of character, emphatically earthy and yet fine Grosse Gewächse that are likely to develop positively for a long time.

The 2010 vintage was particularly good for Silvaner. The top wines are less bulky than in previous years and can therefore show off their subtleties better. At the top of a long line of excellent growths are two completely different wines: the extremely traditional, almost slender, yet immensely tightly woven and complex "Asphodill" from Fürst Löwenstein, and the much more modern, powerful and melting Escherndorfer Lump from Horst Sauer. Hardly less remarkable were the two Silvaners from Wirsching, the Randersackerer Sonnenstuhl from Störrlein & Krenig, the Würzburger Stein from Juliusspital and Staatlicher Hofkeller, and the Rödelseer Küchenmeister from Weingut Weltner, which could still improve with a little maturity, as could Hans Rucks' Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg and Michael Fröhlich's Escherndorfer Lump.

Vineyards near Iphofen (Photo: DWI)

Fürst Löwenstein is also ahead in the Riesling category, but this time shares the top spot with Hans Ruck. Since the wines are quite similar in their uncompromising emphasis on origin, one can search for the differences in character of the widely separated sites in them as an example. If you love traditional Franconian wine, you can't avoid both Rieslings this year. Following closely behind is, remarkably, another wine from the Würzburger Stein, but in this case from the Bürgerspital, as well as the Volkacher Ratsherr from the zur Schwane winery, which has worked its way closer and closer to the top of the region in recent years and this year comes up with the best dry Rieslings that we have been able to taste from here so far.

It is hardly surprising that Paul Fürst did not miss the opportunity to demonstrate where the top is in the German Spätburgunder world. After completion of the new press house, he was able to pull out all the stops and now presents a trio of great Pinot Noirs designed for a long ageing period. We see the example from the Schlossberg, a spectacular site above Klingenberg, in front, which Paul Fürst has only recently been cultivating. Spätburgunder has rarely been so concentrated, deep and dense, but at the same time so subtle and complex in Germany - perhaps never before. The "Hunsrück" from the Bürgstädter Centgrafenberg, to which Paul Fürst's heart is particularly attached, currently appears very closed. However, its impressively firm structure and enormous minerality already indicate that we are dealing with a great Spätburgunder here, too, and we are curious to see whether it can catch up with the Schlossberg over the years. The "normal" Centgrafenberg is also first-class this year, even if not quite as fine as the other two. It is followed at some distance by another remarkably good wine from Schmitts Kinder, whose Spätburgunder already attracted a lot of attention in 2008.

The currently tasted Great Growths from Franconia in the wine guide:

Silvaner

Riesling

Pinot Noir

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