Falstaff Newcomer of the Year: Weingut Franzen, Mosel
Weingut Franzen, owned by Angelina and Kilian Franzen, is in the village of Bremm in the Mosel valley. The vineyard area totals 10 hectares, mostly on very steep slopes, with holdings in the Calmont (Bremm) and Frauenberg (Neef) sites. Riesling accounts for 80% and Pinot Blanc for 10%. Primarily dry wines have been produced here since 1980. When botrytised grapes with a must weight of at least 100 °Oechsle are available, these are used to produce high-quality sweet Auslese wines. The Riesling wines are matured exclusively in stainless steel tanks, while the Pinot varieties are matured in barriques. Natural yeasts were used exclusively for the first time in the 2003 vintage, and none of the wines are fined. The estate is a member of the Bernkasteler Ring and of the Vereinigung Winzer an der Terrassenmosel.
US Importer: Schatzi Wines
Schatzi Wines: Franzen is exactly in between Winningen where Knebel is, and Bernkastel in the Middle Mosel, but the estate is still part of the Mosel Terraces. This is a young family working the steepest site in all of Europe, the Bremmer Calmont. The estate is run by Kilian and Angelina Franzen, both in their 20s. Kilian’s father, Ulrich, had a dream to restore and replant the Bremmer Calmont, which had fallen down over the decades. In the 1800s, the entire Calmont was planted with riesling, but over time, younger generations did not want to work in the steep sites and gave up the vineyards. By 1980, the only vineyards left on the Calmont were vineyards down by the road along the Mosel and the entire mountain was covered in roses and wild vines. In 1999, Ulrich decided to start buying up as much Calmont as he could. He had to research the town records to figure out who owned which piece and over the course of three years, he was able to purchase 112 contiguous parcels, from 112 different owners from Australia to China to the US. This gave him 1.2 ha in the heart of the Calmont, an amphitheater-shaped section near the center of the mountain, facing south. Kilian and Angelina make nearly all dry wine, but they made a kabinett for the first time in the 2015 vintage (it is in stock now). They have 5.8 ha in the Calmont, but also a few hectares in the Neefer Frauenberg, which is also a great site, though less dramatic. The grapes are crushed by feet in large boxes and macerated for 2-4 hours. Then they are pressed, and settled for 12 hours prior to fermentation. All ambient yeast ferments here, and nearly all the wines go through malo.
Mosel Fine Wines: Weingut Franzen
Mosel Fine Wines: One of the highlights of this year’s Auction by the Bernkasteler Ring was undoubtedly the 2015er Bremmer Calmont Kabinett by Weingut Reinhold Franzen. Not only is it a gorgeously well-balanced Kabinett, but it proved an absolute bargain as it went for €13* per bottle!
The Weingut Reinhold Franzen has become a household name for delicately intense but still hugely elegant dry Riesling from its coveted holdings in the Bremmer Calmont and Neefer Frauenberg. We highlighted their superb 2013er Bremmer Calmont Riesling GK GG, one of the finest dry Mosel Riesling in 2013, as wine of the month last year.
So how come that we now put forward a Kabinett by this Estate? When asking Kilian Franzen, who has been at the helm of this Estate together with his wife Angelina since 2012, he simply laughed: “Yes, you may be surprised … because we were too! In fact, this tank of Bremmer Calmont simply stopped its fermentation at just above 50 g/l of residual sugar. We could have tampered with the wine, inoculate it with other tanks, etc. But this is not the way that we want to do things. So we waited and eventually cleared and filtered it as it was. And Ta-Da, there you have our first Kabinett. And you know what? Angelina and I both love it!”
The wine came from the upper part of “their” part of the Bremmer Calmont, the allegedly steepest vineyard in Europe. Their sector is called Fachkaul (pictured here below) and was classified in the highest categories on the Prussian Taxation map in the 19th century.
The Bremmer Calmont is so steep that one can only work it with the help of a monorail track. Around 2000, Kilian’s father Ulrich Franzen, who tragically died in a vineyard accident in 2010, decided to go against the flow. Instead of expanding in “easy to tend” vineyards, he decide to revive part of the super-steep original Calmont. He painstakingly consolidated a 1.5 ha vineyard in the Fachkaul ... by acquiring no less than 112 different parcels! This allowed him to revive the vineyard and, at the same time, to justify the investment into a monorail track to make it economically viable.
Today, Kilian and Angelina Franzen reap the benefits from so much foresight. They were able to harvest this 2015er Kabinett at a low 85° Oechsle in the upper and cooler part of the Fachkaul. This Kabinett proves simply delightful as it is packed with flavors yet retains true Kabinett style. The sweetness is there but already beautifully mingling with the dry extracts and the acidity.
We adore their dry wines and would hate seeing less being produced. But this Kabinett would be a very good reason to do so!
The German Portfolio of Schatzi Wines
The German Portfolio of Schatzi Wines comprises currently 10 producers. Six of them, we have already visited on an ombiasy tour or will visit later this year.
Benedikt Baltes - We will visit Weingut Benedikt Baltes on the forthcoming Germany-East Tour by ombiasy WineTours. See: Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
Dr. Heger - See: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Dr. Heger in Ihringen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Dreissigacker - See: Tasting the Wines President Obama was Served: At Weingut Dreissigacker in Bechtheim, Rheinhessen, with Ute Dreissigacker – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Franzen
Heinrich Spindler
Julia Bertram - See: The 31-Days-of-German-Riesling Concert Cruise Around New York Harbor with the German Wine Queen Julia Bertram and the 3 Wine Amazones Tina Huff, Eva Vollmer and Mirjam Schneider from Mainz, Germany
Karl Haidle - We will visit Weingut Karl Haidle on the forthcoming Germany-East Tour by ombiasy WineTours. See: Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
Knebel
Leitz - See: Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Leitz in Rüdesheim, with Johannes Leitz – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
von Hövel - See: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut von Hövel, Saar, with Owner/ Winemaker Maximilian von Kunow - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies
For the eightth time, the Falstaff Trophies Deutschland were awarded. The wine/food/travel journal Falstaff has been around for a number of years, issued in Vienna, Austria, and reporting about wine, food and travel from an Austrian perspective, for Austria-based readers. Seven years ago, Falstaff expanded into the German wine and food scene and started to issue a German version of Falstaff in addition to the well established Austrian version. As part of its expansion, Falstaff has created the annual Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies, to be awarded to German wine personalities.
For previous years, see:
Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2017
Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2016
Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2015
Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2014
Best German Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2013
Best German Wines and Winemakers - Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2012
Falstaff Deutschland Wine Trophies 2011
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Upcoming Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: April 2, 2018)
Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
UPCOMING Ombiasy Wine Tours in 2018 to Germany and Alsace (May/ June) and to Bordeaux and Burgundy-Champagne (September)
Invitation: TWO !!!!! Exceptional Bordeaux Winemaker Dinners: Lafon-Rochet, May 7, and Haut-Bailly, May 8, 2018, Washington DC, USA
Best German Winemakers: Falstaff Wine Trophies 2018
Sebastian Fürst of Weingut Rudolf Fürst, Franken, is Falstaff Winemaker of the Year 2018, Germany
Riesling Gala 2017 at Eberbach Monastery in the Rheingau: A Riesling Feast in a Breathtaking Historic Setting, Germany
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Dr. Heger in Ihringen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Tasting the Wines President Obama was Served: At Weingut Dreissigacker in Bechtheim, Rheinhessen, with Ute Dreissigacker – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Leitz in Rüdesheim, with Johannes Leitz – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut von Hövel, Saar, with Owner/ Winemaker Maximilian von Kunow - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
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