“For me, Peter Leipold is on the way to becoming a young genius… He worked for two years here at our winery before leaving for Liger-Belair… What Peter does with Pinot and Silvaner in Franconia reminds me of what Julian Haart is doing in the Mosel… Peter’s wines touch my heart.”
– Klaus Peter Keller
I don’t think anyone – myself included honestly – really understands what the **** Franken is about, this mysterious region east of Frankfurt.
If anyone knows anything about this place, it’s the traditional bottle shape, the Bocksbeutel – this curious, squat, short and round bottle. Maybe you know they are named after goat scrotums. But really, that’s neither here nor there.
What you should know about Franken, or Franconia, is the following.
First, Riesling is something of a minority here; the most important variety is Silvaner. In fact, Franken is perhaps the spiritual homeland of this grape, though a few Rheinhessen folks (like Carsten Saalwächter or Klaus Peter Keller) might have something contrary to say about that idea. Silvaner is one of the great grapes of Germany. At its best, it shapes a wine not dissimilar to Chardonnay, yet with more clarity and structure and vigor – many wine writers, myself included, find great Silvaner on limestone to have something of the clarity and cut of great Chablis.
The second thing to know about Franken is that the wines are famously, brutally, dry. Analytics can be a confusing business, but if Trocken wines, or dry wines in German, most often have five to maybe nine grams of residual sugar, “Franken Trocken” is its own unofficial category, most often clocking in at or below four grams.
Finally, and this is the most important thing one can say about Franconia – this is a region to watch. There are few places with more history or experience with Silvaner. There are few places where the wines can have such fullness and density, yet feel in a way austere, or steely (Franken is the Saar of Franconia?). Scheurebe, Pinot Noir, Weissburgunder, Riesling – all of it can be very compelling from Franken.
Peter Leipold is one of the young talents to watch, and watch closely. Keller introduced me to Peter and I’ve been tasting his wines now for almost three years. He’s been farming only around six hectares at his family estate since 2018. This is a story being written, right now.
I can honestly say I’ve tasted with few young growers who have such a natural confidence and a natural touch, such a mature feel at such a young age. It’s hard to describe – the wines are seamless. There is no easy hook, no smack-you-in-the-face quality, no über-designed labels or glossy wax capsules. It’s just the wines themselves: there is nothing out of place. They feel finessed, with appropriate curves, not austere and linear, not cut or too sharp. At the same time, they are not full, they are not round or easy or fruity. They are pure and so, so clear and mineral.
They are like austere wines, made kind. They are like glossy wines, with some restraint.
They are in the middle – perfectly in the middle… so improbably in the middle that they feel natural and easy – almost obvious, self-evident – and, at the same time, singular, perfect… among the rarest diamonds out there.
The hierarchy here is a bit curious, this is a young estate in Franken, so bear with us.
There are two “basic wines,” Kabinett Trocken liters – one Silvaner and one Bacchus. Drink them as you would water, even though they are better than water.
There are two village-level wines (Obervolkach, which is an awesome-sounding name, is the village), a Riesling and a Scheurebe – both dry, of course.
There are two soil-based Silvaners, one Muschelkalk (a shell limestone) and one Keuper (normally referring to marl) – both are Kabinett Trockens.
Then there are “alte Rebens,” old-vine bottlings – there is one from Scheurebe and one from Silvaner. Yes, these are bottled in Bocksbeutel.
Finally, there are the Grand Cru Silvaners, one from the limestone riddled Gässberg and one from a few parcels with Schilfsandstein, a type of sand stone soil.
There are also a few Pinot Noir bottlings. When they are on, they are among the best in Germany.