WTN: Fürst time caller, long time listener

2022 Rudolf Fürst Bürgstadter Berg Spätburgunder Erste Lage

Really impressive, by far the most convincing Spätburgunder I've tried. Bright floral and lightly herbal aromas lead into a palate that has lots of vibrant red fruit accented by more florality and a savoury woodsy earthiness underneath, all conveyed with a lightness of touch that makes it extremely easy to drink. It's showing nicely now with generous fruit on the palate, though there's plenty of structure beneath with bright acids and fine grained tannins, and I'd have no problem aging more (if I had any) given the structure and balance. Outstanding and I'll have to explore more from this producer.

[David M. Bueker]

Fürst has been the best of the modest selection of Spätburgunders I have tried.

[Jenise]

Great title.

Nice. I'm sure you know Fürst is a classic name in Franken/German Spätburgunder. A good counterpoint to all the trendy new wave natural-style producers.

[David M. Bueker]

And the trendy old wave natural producers.

Nice. I'm sure you know Fürst is a classic name in Franken/German Spätburgunder. A good counterpoint to all the trendy new wave natural-style producers.

I didn't know that - my knowledge of Spätburgunder is *very* limited, beyond knowing that the Keller wines are $$$$ and highly sought after, and having tasting a couple of older Assmanhauser Hollenbergs some years ago. Beyond that, blank. So this is useful to know. A local-ish store (Saratoga Wine Exchange) has a few from Fürst, so I rolled the dice on a couple.

The style was right in my wheelhouse. I'm not as big a fan of newer wave/natural-style reds in either Burgundy or Beaujolais (wasn't aware this was also happening with Spätburgunder, though not surprised). I'm looking forward to opening my other bottle soon (the '22 Klingenberger).

And the trendy old wave natural producers.

Curious who you're thinking of here? Not Enderle & Moll era stuff? I consider them New Wave!

[David M. Bueker]

And the trendy old wave natural producers.

Curious who you're thinking of here? Not Enderle & Moll era stuff? I consider them New Wave!

Exactly who I am thinking of as they have been around for a while.

And the trendy old wave natural producers.

Curious who you're thinking of here? Not Enderle & Moll era stuff? I consider them New Wave!

Exactly who I am thinking of as they have been around for a while.

2007 first vintage. Sure, they were one of the first to open the natural glou glou door, and Wasenhaus et al have built on it.

It's all nitpicking but I still think of that as one new wave against the styles that dominated in the 90s and early 00s, which were generally either overextracted (and overpriced) oaky big names or rustic simple cheaper wines.

There has been lots of movement since then, in reference to Salil's point about clicking with the Fürst style. Some of the big names in the classic sites have gone more elegant and while the glou-glou style continues to spread, there is now a wider range of quality wines, in different styles, across the country. But you already knew I am a fan!

Furst used to be basically the only German Spatburgunder I ever saw. Usually enjoyed (and their Pur Mineral whites too)

I'm with Rahsaan here. Spätburgunder used to be synonymous with under-fruited, over-oaked, thin wines. E&M was my first exposure to the more serious side of Spätburgunder production in Baden. More recently (AFAIK) Franken and the Mosel have entered the arena, probably as much due to climate change as anything else.

E&M was my first exposure to the more serious side of Spätburgunder production in Baden. More recently (AFAIK) Franken and the Mosel have entered the arena, probably as much due to climate change as anything else.

Fürst is in Franken and is a long-time big-name producer. There are also historic producers and sites in the Rheingau and the Ahr, all over Germany. I think the Mosel is probably one of the newest regions (Spätburgunder was banned in the Mosel from the 1930s to the 80s, and of course climate change is helping the ripeness there). But in general, it's a spread to new sites and new producer energy, good stuff all over the country.

[David M. Bueker]

I went to the Nahe/Ahr auction in fall 2003. The Ahr Spatburgunders were universally oakier than the Guigal LaLas.

Put me off Spatburgunder for almost 20 years.