The Fürst's Klingenberg vineyard produces top quality Pinot Noir
Weingut Fürst
The Fürst family have been involved in viticulture as far back as 1638, making them one of the oldest wine-producing families in the world. Based in Bürgstadt in Franken, the estate is a member of the VDP and was a founding member of the German Barrique Forum.
In the 1970s, Paul Fürst and his wife Monika began development of a new estate with a state-of-the-art cellar atop their Centgrafenberg vineyard. The Fürst estate, which has grown from the original six acres in the 1600s to 50 acres in the 21st century, is now run by Paul’s son Sebastian Fürst. It is a big act for him to follow, especially after Paul Fürst was made ‘Vintner of the Year 2003’ in Germany.
Approximately 50% of all the grapes grown on the Fürst estate are Pinot Noir. Of the remaining half, a large proportion is Riesling and Pinot Blanc. Work in the vineyard is all done by hand, including thinning of foliage and careful fruit selection at harvest. The Fürst's aim to treat their vines and soil using natural practices that are as close to organic as possible. They believe that taking the time to implement such methods makes a real difference to the quality of their wines.
The Fürsts produce remarkably elegant wines for a region renowned for its rusticity. Paul Fürst began experimenting with his Pinot Noir grapes and new vinification methods in the mid-1980s. By adopting methods similar to those used in red Burgundy production, Paul ensured that fermentation was completed with increased skin contact, and that the wine was matured in French oak. Their hard work was rewarded when Spätburgunder ‘R’ Centgrafenberg won Wine of the Year 2001 and 2004 in Wein-Gourmet Magazine.
The Fürsts successfully transferred these Burgundian experiments to their Pinot Blanc grapes by fermenting the grapes in small barriques and by including a malolactic fermentation. In their Fine Wine Guide, Oz Clarke and Steven Spurrier describe the Fürst Pinot Blanc as “the most Burgundian white wine produced in Germany”. The traditional whites such as Riesling and Silvaner offer a crystalline purity with a near silky palate, the most important of which is the Riesling Centgrafenberg.
Fürst wines are imported into the UK by Awin Barratt Siegel Wine Agencies and are on sale at Oddbins, Connollys in Birmingham, Weavers of Nottingham and other independent wine merchants across the UK. Visit the Wines of Germany online ‘Wine Search’ facility to view stockists: http://www.winesofgermany.co.uk/advanced-search.lml
