Fürst Reviews from Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate
ABS Wine Agencies, Tue 03 Nov 2020
“This is a terrific series of 2018s for Sebastian Fürst, who is fully responsible for the family domaine that was led to German’y heights by Paul and Monika Fürst since they took over in 1978. I had a long conversation with Sebastian recently about the domain, the philosophy and the making of world class wines. I will share this is in a longer report to be released in early 2021 that will not just include first impressions of the 2019s but also verticals of several wines, namely the extraordinary Pinots and Rieslings. Fürst is in fact a Burgundian domain in Churfranken, the part of Franconia that is the closest to Frankfurt and located in a beautiful, coolish landscape between Odenwald and Spessart. Reddish Buntsandstein soils dominate the villages and vineyards between Bürgstadt and Klingenberg, where Fürst sources his finest wines. The grapes ripen up to 14 days later here than in Baden’s Kaiserstuhl district and give spectacularly refined and refreshing wines of great elegance and drinkability. After a longer while, I also tasted the great Weisser Burgunder R (a.k.a. Pinot Blanc) and the Chardonnays again that are produced here and in Astheim (on Triassic Muschelkalk limestone). These wines have (at least) premier cru level but are not allowed to be marketed as Grosses Gewächs. The vines are either top German clones or massal selections from Burgundy, and they are planted at high density, up to 17,000 feet per hectare. The 2018 Pinots and Chardonnays are exceptional and include some of the finest wines I have tasted at this stellar domain in 20 years. Despite the warm vintage, the wines show remarkable freshness, finesse and purity that balances the perfectly ripe and concentrated fruit. I had most of the wines as samples earlier this year, but I will report about the bottled wines as soon as possible. The release date is September 1. Until then, you will have to trust my preliminary tasting notes.” by Stephan Reinhardt
Schlossberg Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs 2018
Rating: (95 - 97)
“Highly rened and elegant on the crystalline and peppery nose, very ne and pure and provided with dark and red berry as well as ripe cherry aromas intertwined with spicy notes and a touch of toast and oak. Seamless. Juicy but rened on the palate, with great intensity, energy and nesse, this is a full-bodied, tight and fruitintense yet pure and silky-textured, vibrantly fresh and mineral Pinot with ne tannins, great tension and enormous length. Although the vines are much younger (but French genetics) than in the Hundsrück, this Schlossberg from Klingenberg has the same energy and tension but more nesse and less power and length than the sibling from Bürgstadt. All in all, this is a highly promising Pinot Noir and the most complex Schlossberg Fürst has ever produced.”
Hundsrück Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs 2018
Rating: (95 - 96)
“Pure, fresh, ne and even cool on the deep and elegant, perfectly ripe and balanced nose that reveals ripe, tightly woven and spiced fruit aromas. Intense, ripe and generous on the full-bodied and concentrated yet ne, fresh and pure palate, this is a tight and energetic, vibrantly fresh and mineral Pinot with ne tannins but enormous grip and tension and lingering salinity. Absolutely fabulous and sustainable. Possibly the greatest Hundsrück I have had so far.”
Centgrafenberg Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs 2018
Rating: (94 - 95)
“Fascinatingly pure, fresh, rened and elegant on the delicate and spicy nose, with great nesse, precision and some toasty and smoky notes. Tight and intense on the palate, this is a vibrantly fresh, tensioned and juicy Pinot with a silky texture and charming red berry aromas. The nish is straight, clear and elegant and reveals stimulating salinity and mineral tension. This is a mouth-salivating Pinot Noir from iron-rich sandstone soils.”
Chardonnay R 2018
Rating: (93 - 95)
“Terriby pure, fresh and precise on the chalky and intense as well as complex and promising nose. Full-bodied, intense and juicy on the palate, this is a rich, mouth-lling and quite powerful but elegant and pure Chardonnay with great tension, grip and complexity. This Chardonnay is only the second vintage entirely sourced from 21-year-old vines planted by Paul Fürst in 1997 on the pure Muschelkalk limestone soils in the Astheimer Karthäuser.”
Spätburgunder Tradition 2018
Rating: 91 points
“Super pure, fresh and aromatic with its ripe and spicy cherry aromas. Predominantly sourced in Bürgstadt and from younger vines (20+ years old) on top sites and vines in lower vineyards, the wine reects the harvest date perfectly. The 2018 harvest started in late August, but the physiological ripeness was higher than in all the years before. With tart cherry aromas on the nose, this is a pure, fresh and elegant Pinot with intense and ripe fruit and a spectacular, long nish. This is a warm, rich and persistent red wine, from the earliest harvest the Fürsts can remember. “It has never been easier to harvest,” says Sebastian Fürst. “We didn’t have to select anything; we just processed what we got.” This is a gorgeous Pinot Noir with lingering freshness and salinity and ne phenolic grip. Aged in used 228-liter barriques for 13 months.”
Riesling pur mineral 2019
Rating: 91 points
“A brilliant estate wine and sandstone representative from Sebastian Fürst. It is precise, pure, fresh and crystalclear on the nose, with bright fruit and gentle sur lie aromas. This is a dry Riesling with 11.5% alcohol, charmingly round and juicy fruit and stimulating mineral acidity. Entirely vinied in stainless steel, this will drink well for at least the next 10 years.”