Horst Sauer - Silvaner S Escherndorfer Lump 2020
We are drinking a bottle of Silvaner S. 2020 from the Erste Lage Escherndorfer Lump, produced by the Horst Sauer winery.
I can probably count the remaining Bocksbeutel bottles in my wine collection on one hand by now. This is partly because I don’t buy enough Silvaner, but also because it feels like fewer and fewer wines are being bottled in Bocksbeutel. I don’t have statistics at hand to support this, nor do I have the inclination to research it right now. I don’t particularly like the Bocksbeutel for purely practical reasons anyway. It always seems to take up a bit more space than it should. In the refrigerator door, in the refrigerator compartment, on the shelf. And perhaps it’s precisely this nonconformity, the somewhat rugged nature of the bottle itself, that makes me grin every time a Bocksbeutel stands on the table. And it does have its advantages. It doesn’t roll away when lying down, and it’s much easier to grip when pouring than a boring normal bottle. At Weingut Horst Sauer, wines are filled in both bottle shapes. In and around Escherndorf, not far from the Main loop near Volkach, the Sauer family cultivates about 20 hectares of land. And they’re not the only Sauers in the area, so keep your eyes open when buying wine, or you might end up with a different winery in your shopping cart. But anyone who buys wine on the Mosel is hardly fazed by identical surnames when purchasing wine. Directly above the village lies the Escherndorfer Lump vineyard, from which both Grosse Gewächse and Erste Lagen are produced. The vines here stand on shell limestone and enjoy their view of the Main, sometimes more, sometimes less directly facing south, depending on how the river flows before it makes its 180-degree turn at Volkach. By the way, I’ve been told that the camper van parking spot for the wine-loving retiree, directly opposite, on the other side of the ferry, is supposed to be fantastic. I don’t camp, so this is just hearsay. Nordheim is really beautiful though, even for non-campers. The Silvaner S from 2020 is marketed as Erste Lage and comes from vines about 35 years old. It’s fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, with a short maceration period. Those who want to buy the current vintage will have to do without the S in the name, as the wine is now simply called Silvaner Escherndorfer Lump.
The Silvaner smells both fresh and ripe. There’s yellow fruit, a bit of apple juice with hops (which I really, really like), some pineapple, and a lot of pear. And the wine tastes exactly the same. I didn’t expect the amount of pull and acidity from the nose. There’s stone and real power behind it, and at the same time, the full load of pear from the nose spreads juicily on the middle of the tongue and then just stays there. And stays there. And stays there. For a brief moment right after unscrewing, I thought the wine was already quite advanced. But with the first sip in the mouth, this impression immediately disappears. Because it seems so ripe on the nose and then incredibly fresh on the palate, I’m really curious about how it will age. Fortunately, we had two bottles brought to us, so in this case, I can actually find out how it progresses. And thanks to the screw cap, I’m looking forward to the coming years quite relaxed. I think we’ll revisit this in about three years.
For this reason, I’m very excited about the second evening. I always predict that the development on the small scale anticipates the development on the large scale, so what happens over days predicts what happens over years in the bottle. The opportunities where I can really follow this are rare, and this will be one of them. A reason for the blog and a reason why this wine appears here today, it helps to remember. One more data point for my own maturation observation log. There’s now a hint of ice candy in the wine. Fortunately, very little, because I don’t really like that. Behind it, again a mixture of lots of ripe pome fruit, pineapple, and spice. And it still tastes like it smells. First, a brief ice candy note, then pear, and then an herbal finale full of spice. I really like this. Also, that with a lot of air, it starts to become slightly creamy on the finish. A bit more with each swirl. These wines always explain to me quite directly that I should be drinking much more Silvaner. From Franconia and from elsewhere. This always falls a bit by the wayside, and that’s a shame. I vow to do better.