Since 1638 in Bürgstadt — how a family redefined German Pinot Noir
The Fürst family has been demonstrably growing wine in Bürgstadt am Main since 1638 — in an area that hardly anyone had on the viticultural map at the time. That changed fundamentally when Paul Fürst and his wife Monika built the estate building in the middle of the vineyards of the Centgrafenberg in 1979 and consistently geared the business towards quality viticulture. What began with just 1.5 hectares of vineyard area is today a winery of around 22 hectares — and one of the most renowned addresses for German Pinot Noir in general. Since 2007, Paul Fürst and his son Sebastian have been running the business together; Sebastian and his wife Isabell are now carrying the signature of the house into the next generation. Gault Millau named Paul Fürst Winemaker of the Year in 2003 — an award that officially sealed Bürgstadt's rise to become a German red wine stronghold, which was already palpable at the time.
Buntsandstein, steep slope, and whole bunches — viticulture without compromise
The heart of the winery lies in Churfranken, the westernmost tip of the Franconia wine region, embedded in the basin between Spessart and Odenwald. The mild microclimate of this basin creates conditions under which Pinot Noir reaches full maturity — which was long considered hardly possible here. The soil is decisive: iron-rich red Buntsandstein (colored sandstone), which stores heat, forces the roots deep, and gives tight, mineral wines their framework. The three central sites — Centgrafenberg and Hundsrück in Bürgstadt as well as Schlossberg in Klingenberg — are classified as VDP.Grosse Lagen; for the Chardonnay, the shell limestone soil of the Karthäuser in Volkach is added.
In the vineyard, Fürst relies on high-density planting with small-berried Pinot Noir clones and keeps the yields of the three red Grosses Gewächs at a maximum of 35 hectoliters per hectare — comparable to the Premiers and Grands Crus in Burgundy. In the cellar, the business follows a classic Burgundian path: fermentation in open wooden vats, often with a high whole-bunch content of up to 100 percent, followed by maturation in 228-liter Burgundy barrels for around 18 months. Spontaneous yeasts, no frills — the wine should show the site, not the cellar.
Centgrafenberg, Hundsrück, Schlossberg — three sites, three characters
Around 60 percent of the vineyard area is accounted for by Pinot Noir and the rare Frühburgunder, 15 percent by Riesling, and the rest by Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Silvaner. The Centgrafenberg with up to 40 percent slope is considered the elegant, site-capable center of the range — Pinot Noir and Riesling grow here on the same red rock. The Hundsrück delivers more powerful, spicier Pinot Noir with more pressure on the palate. The steep terraced slope of the Schlossberg in Klingenberg, whose dry stone walls are listed as historical monuments, is reserved exclusively for Pinot Noir and produces wines of great minerality. In addition, there is the Frühburgunder, an old Bürgstadt grape variety with a yield of only 22 hectoliters per hectare: dark-berried, spicier than Pinot Noir, with notes of dark chocolate and smoke. Anyone who underestimates the Rieslings in the range is missing out — they grow on the same Buntsandstein and bring a cool, salty minerality that is unusual for Franconia.
