What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear of winemaker “Rudolf Fürst”? The famous Centgrafenberg vineyard? The amazing Pinot Noirs? Or the Burgundy style of delicious Chardonnays from the vineyards around Astheim. For us it’s all three. That is why we have been looking forward to this visit so much.

The German word “Fürst” translates into „lord“. A very nice wordplay - because there is definitely good reason to call Weingut Fürst the “Lord of Franconia” when it comes to wine. The wines are a class of its own. From Riesling to Pinot Noir to Chardonnay.

The funny story is that for many people the wine region of Franconia still stands for Silvaner. A very typical and traditional grape variety for this area. And then there is Rudolf Fürst - a winemaker that already made three surprising careers in the wine world.

Three little revolutions

First, they make these amazing, deep and super clear Rieslings from a vineyard that was definitely not on the list of the best Riesling sites thirty years ago. But it for sure is today: Every Riesling lover should know the Centgrafenberg GG. And if you had the pleasure to enjoy this wine with some age you will never want to miss it again.

Second, they showed that Burgundy exists not only in France, but also in Franconia. Be making a range of unbelievably elegant Pinot Noirs that can easily be compared with the big names from Burgundy. So it is especially this winemaker that puts the region next to Baden and Pfalz where for many years the best German Pinots came from.

And third, they dedicated most of their vineyards around the village of Astheim - a place with amazing shell limestone - to Chardonnay. By doing that, they proved in a very short time, that also in this regard the region can easily compete with the best of the best from France and other German regions.

Humbleness as a personality

You will not see any of this when you visit the winery in the beautiful Franconian village of Bürgstadt. We arrived just a few days before the harvest was going to start in the best late summer weather. Sun and clouds mixed up above our heads when we immediately ran into Sebastian Fürst who is today the head of it all.

Sebastian is a very warm-hearted, humble and down-to-earth person. Super easy to talk with and a highly professional winemaker that knows each and every detail there is to know. And he obviously is a family guy. Family plays an important role here. You will immediately recognize that.

The Fürst family has been making wine since 1638. But it was especially the last two generations - Sebastian and his father Paul - who catapulted the wine quality into completely new dimensions of elegance and made sure that you will find them on many top wine lists all over the world.

The beauty of Franconia

We immediately jumped into the car to see some of the amazing vineyard sites of Weingut Fürst. And we have to admit, that we have seen the views over Hundsrück and Centgrafenberg before. But we have never visited the Schlossberg vineyard in the beautiful city of Klingenberg and we immediately fell in love with it.

Like a Clos, surrounded by beautiful old stone walls. Steep and with a wonderful old church tower underneath. And on top of it the ruin of Clingenburg castle. What a beautiful place to be. Once again we learned about the beauty of this region by visiting the most famous vineyards. Already on our way to the winery we enjoyed the beautiful road along the river Main. This region is definitely worth visiting.

Tasting the quality

When we tasted the result of Sebastian’s and the team’s work, we were - only again - swept away. Tasting this range is always a blessing. No need to repeat that we are big fans of the Centgrafenberg, and collected the wines for years. And also 2022 is a dream of clarity, freshness and straightness. So good.

The wine style when it comes to Chardonnay has become our favorite - together with the great wines of Julian Huber. Three quality levels of Chardonnay and you have three top highlights of enjoyment in the glass. Also here: concentration meets elegance meets perfect integration of the wood barrels. Amazing.

We were totally overwhelmed by the quality of the “Frühburgunder R” - a grape variety that is usually a little less elegant than Pinot Noir. But not here. You have it all, concentration and finesse. Truly impressive.

And what can you say about the Pinot Noir range? They deliver each year and the 21s are definitely no exception. That is Burgundy elegance, depth and finesse. Hundsrück was our highlight once again but the two others are really close.

So wherever you see the famous “Fürst” logo of the bottle, you can be sure to have an amazing quality in your wine glass.