Silvaner is a wonderful grape in the right soil and hands. Similar to Aligote vs Chardonnay in Burgundy, not in style, but in its distant second class citizenship.
The more I drink Silvaner the more deep I feel it is. It is not the type of wine that jumps out of the glass and tells you it is great. Not the type of wine that creates symbiotic food pairings. Just wine that is a perfect partner to most foods and a delightful companion. It is not the type of friend who is the life of the party but over time you realize has the most to say, its just measured and very thoughtful.
I decided to line up four exceptional Silvaners and do a pre and during dinner tastings. We took our time and focused on the line up for a good hour with no food present.
2017 Weltner Julius Echter Berg - The most mineral of the bunch. Extremely savory. But a slightly different savory than you get in Riesling a more subdued but equally puckering quality. Minerality is its core strength.
2017 Keller Feuervogel - This is my favorite favorite Silvaner along with Vetter and Weltner. It is the most aromatic, elegant and Riesling like on the nose. Extremely energetic, lively and just plain delicious. The most regal of this bunch.
2017 Leipold /Schilfsandstein - Full disclosure we sold this through source | material so let me just say that this is an example of one of many young growers who are inspired to work with Silvaner. It is like licking a salt covered rock and definitely deserved to be in this lineup.
**2015 Luckert Creutz ***** - This is made from vines planted in 1870 so most likely the oldest Silvaner in the world. ~350 bottles are produced. Given its rarity it is expensive around $150. Very big wine, viscous, feels like there was lot of lees contact. Honestly fascinating to try and a very good wine but not exactly what I am looking for in Silvaner. I did enjoy seeing this unique interpretation and I will still buy a few every year as I want to see how these age.
Overall I would say I am falling deeper and deeper for the cerebral and savory Silvaner!
I like Silvaners but hard to find good ones. I donāt think Iāve drunk one in over five years when my wife brought back a few good ones from Germany. At this point, I couldnāt even tell you which ones they were but I know I couldnāt find them locally when I tried.
Itās a lovely grape that seems to be seeing better attention, though still very much a niche level in terms of export. Itās one of those grapes where a āsampler setā would be useful to try a bottle or two from a wider range of producers. Hint. Hint.
(p.s. Dirler Cade makes lovely Silvaner. I know thatās Alsace, but I really enjoy their version.)
Gil Scott is rolling over in his grave, Robā¦
Rudi Wiest had pushed for years to have the US recognize the diversity and versatility of great silvaner, even though it never really caught on. He kept trying, nonetheless.
I second the Dirler nod (I am fierce proponent of their wines, importing them for years), as well as Agathe Bursin.
I havenāt had much experience with aged versions.
But for sure there is much more to be appreciated and celebrated than the market currently has an appetite for.
Yes, for sure. It gets a little rounder, more complex, and with a delicious savory quality. But Iām talking from the best sites, like the '09 Castell Schlossberg we had at Thanksgivingā¦Yum!
toddled over of an evening for dinner to the Bocksbeutelstube,
ordered a .25-litre glass of Silvaner Randersackerer Ewig Leben
after six days of heavy reds, i had never tasted anything so delicious in my life
finished the Viertel
and another
and another
and anotherā¦
this was litre wine from a Grosslage (whose name means something like āeternal lifeā)ā¦
and it was just amazingly fresh & bright & satisfying
on top of which,
grown & vinified by estates such as Wirsching in Iphofen or BĆ¼rgerspital zum Heiligen Geist in WĆ¼rzburg
Silvaner from top sites have been known to match the depth & complexity of 1er cru Meursault
never as aromatic as Riesling or GV or Chenin ā one needs to realise this is not a flaw
Well actually there are some young growers who are making some great MĆ¼ller-Thurgaus which I assume you would dig given the focus of your own project.
Yes, I have read that there are a few producers doing good stuff with it again. I wouldnāt mind trying some, but Iāve never seen MT offered from growers here. Has anyone ever made a US MT?
In general, MT seems to have been spectacularly hated and maligned in the last 30 years. Even more so than Colombard, even.
![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}