THE WINE ADVOCATE #229 STEPHAN REINHARDT, 28Th Feb 2017

THE WINE ADVOCATE #229 STEPHAN REINHARDT, 28th Feb 2017

2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • SYLVANER CREUTZ ***

From what is most likely the world’s oldest Sylvaner vineyard (planted in 1870) and, thus, a field blend of all different kinds of Sylvaners such as Gelber (yellow), Roter (red), Blauer (blue) and Muscat-Sylvaner (Sauvignon Blanc), the 2015 Sylvaner Creutz *** is a fascinating wine not just because of its incredible story but its unique flavors and taste! The wine opens very clear and pure and with lovely fruit aromas that a modern Grüner (green) Sylvaner doesn’t give. In fact, there are some muscat flavors here and a subtle intensity you can only find in -un grafted vines, which are extremely rare in Franken. This vineyard is located in a building land, but for some obscure reasons it survived, probably because it is too steep. Uli Luckert discov- ered it in 2011 and made the deal of his life: He got permission to cultivate it and has to pay 12 Bocksbeutel per year for that. The result in 2015 is gorgeous! This is an intense but highly delicate and elegant Sylvaner with lots of energy, finesse and juicy tension. Slightly creamy from the long lees contact until July but provided with very fine tannins, super delicate acidity and a stimulating grip, this is one of the most fascinating Sylvaners I have tasted in the last 12 months if not in years! Some Zinnkoepflé Sylvaner from Southern Alsace comes to my mind (also from limestone soils), but a dry and lush one like this? Not a single one. The 2015 Creutz is a great terroir wine from vines that are more than 140 years old and that don’t yield more than ten hectoliters per hectare. Consequently, it was fermented and aged in a 300-liter barrel. This is a great and unique wine--a liquid memorial! There were 400 bottles produced that sell for 75 Euro in Germany. Still available in early February.

95/100

WEINGUT ZEHNTHOF THEO LUCKERT Inh. Wolfgang und Ulrich Luckert Kettengasse 3-5 . 97320 Sulzfeld am Main . Tel. +49(0)9321-23778 . Fax +49(0)9321-5077 . [email protected] . www.weingut-zehnthof.de 2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • SILVANER SULZFELDER SONNENBERG BEERENAUSLESE

The only wine that was fermented in stainless steel is the 2015 Silvaner Sulzfelder Sonnenberg Beerenauslese. Bottled with a stunning 12% alcohol and 158 grams of residual sugar, this old- school sweet wine opens with honey, Turkish nougat and dried stone fruit aromas on the nose. Dense and sweet but with a good tannin structure and a salty character, this is a clear, vivacious and digestible BA with fire, grip and a fresh intensity. The wine is very rich but also pure, vital, full of tension and with great aging potential. Keep this wine for 10 or more years, even 20.

93/100

2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • SILVANER SULZFELDER MAUSTAL GG

From 56-year-old vines on poor limestone soils Luckert’s 2015 Silvaner Sulzfelder Maustal GG opens with a pure and smoky bouquet of crushed limestones along with bright fruit aromas. Full-bodied, with a creamy texture, great finesse and lingering vitality, this is a powerful but highly elegant and delicate Sylvaner with very fine tannins and lovely bitters in the long, intense finish. Impressive!

92/100

2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • RIESLING AUSLESE BERG 1

Luckert’s 2015 Riesling Auslese Berg 1 fermented up to 12% alcohol and 58 grams of residual sugar and offers a clear, fresh and chalky/mineral Riesling bouquet with lovely freshness. Me- dium to full-bodied, sweet and piquant, this is a light-footed, finessed and very intense Auslese with a very long, complex and well structured finish. The 2015 is far too young to be enjoyed today, but I suppose it will be great in ten years and still in 20.

91/100

From 37- to 45-year-old vines on yellow limestone soils and fermented in 2400-liter Dop- pelstück vats, the 2015 Silvaner Sulzfelder Sonnenberg Gelbkalk opens with a beautifully clear and complex, slightly irony nose that reminds me of certain wines from the Jura. Medium to full-bodied, round, finessed and creamy, this is a gorgeous Sylvaner--lush and vital, bright and digestible. With 45 hectoliters per hectare, the yield is significantly higher than in the 2015 Sylvaner GG (which was picked with 30 hectoliters per hectare), but in vintages like 2015 this is perhaps the golden middle course.

91/100

2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • SILVANER AUSLESE BERG 1

The 2015 Silvaner Auslese Berg 1 is clear, precise and spicy on the nose, with ripe fruit aromas, white pepper and a hint of caramel. Full-bodied, intense and mineral, with a moderate sweet- ness of 40 grams per liter and 12% of alcohol, this is a firmly structured, vital and expressive Auslese with a creamy texture and a long, salty and beautifully grippy finish. Since they are well known for their bone-dry wines, the Luckerts will probably sell this wine for a lifetime, but it won’t become worse, just the contrary. A gorgeous, still a bit bitter Auslese in the old Franconi- an style of the 1970s and 1980s.

90+/100

Grown on poor shell limestone (Muschelkalk), the 2015 GelberMuskateller Trocken Sulzfelder offers a beautifully ripe, intense and sensual Muscat aroma intertwined with noble chalky flavors. Round, pure and fresh, this is a full-bodied and stimulatingly salty dry Muscat with a mineral finish. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in a Stückfass barrel. However, although the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, I miss an even more noble and calm character here that I had expected because of the perfectly ripe nose. Like this, it remains be- tween grand cru level and aperitif. Maybe it will become more cru one day? This wine has 13% alcohol and 1.4 grams of residual sugar per liter. Tasted in February 2017.

89/100

2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • RIESLING STEINRIEGEL BERG 1

From a steep limestone vineyard in Sulzfeld with 27-year-old vines, the 2015 Riesling Stein- riegel Berg 1 opens with an intense but clear and aromatic ripe stone fruit (peach) aroma intermixed with some citrus and chalky flavors. The wine is full-bodied, fresh, very pure and salty but cries for more calm and creaminess on the palate. Fermented and aged in tradition- al Stückfass (1200-liter oak vats) and kept on the lees until the end of April, malolactic would have been a natural process but had been avoided to keep the freshness. This has 13.5% alcohol. Tasted in February 2017.

89/100

The 2015 Silvaner Alte Reben Sulzfelder is clear, ripe and subtly spicy on the fruity nose. Round, intense and elegant, with a charming creaminess and nice bitterness in the finish, this is a medium-bodied and well balanced Sylvaner with a long, powerful though still refreshing and salty finish. Very well structured and bone dry, this is from 41- to 54-year-old vines on shallow limestone soils, with a yield of 50 hectoliters per hectare. The wine fermented in Doppelstück vats. Tasted in February 2017.

88/100

2015 ZEHNTHOF LUCKERT • RIESLING SULZFELDER MAUSTAL GG

From 42-year-old vines, the 2015 Riesling Sulzfelder Maustal GG is very intense and ripe on the nose, with a fine mineral flavor in the background. Full-bodied yet fresh and finessed, with pronounced acidity (although the wine underwent malolactic fermentation), good salinity and some bitterness in the finish, this is a complex but (still?) not perfectly balanced Riesling. The finish is a bit stringent and dry, too. Is this a question of age?

88+/100

WEINGUT ZEHNTHOF THEO LUCKERT Inh. Wolfgang und Ulrich Luckert Kettengasse 3-5 . 97320 Sulzfeld am Main . Tel. +49(0)9321-23778 . Fax +49(0)9321-5077 . [email protected] . www.weingut-zehnthof.de