Silvaner from the Maustal
When German Silvaner is discussed today, Weingut Zehnthof Luckert in Sulzfeld is unavoidable. The Luckert family runs the estate together - and they do it the way they have for decades: quietly and thoroughly. What counts are the vineyards, the old vines, and the Muschelkalk. The rest follows.
The estate has been a VDP member since 1955 — almost from the beginning. Since 2007 they have farmed organically under Naturland guidelines. In their seat, the prince-bishop's Zehnthof of 1558 in Sulzfeld's old town, history is literally present.
Sulzfeld am Main — Muschelkalk, Hill, History
Sulzfeld is a relatively quiet town in the Mainviereck — and that is precisely what makes its vineyards so exciting. The slopes along the Main form an amphitheatre of upper Muschelkalk, threaded with bands of yellow limestone, with unusually skeletal soils. Here Silvaner and Riesling reach a mineral depth Franken otherwise achieves only in a few places.
Three vineyards define the estate's work: the VDP.GROSSE LAGE Maustal with its striking amphitheatre on the Main; the VDP.ERSTE LAGE Sulzfelder Berg with historic stone terraces and old Weißburgunder vines from the 1960s; and the VDP.ERSTE LAGE Sulzfelder Sonnenberg, whose yellow limestone veins particularly shape Silvaner and Frühburgunder — and which since 1990 has also carried one of Franken's first Chardonnay plantings. Add to that the historic site Creutz with one of Germany's oldest Silvaner plantings from around 1875 — ungrafted, and revived by the estate in 2009.
Four Silvaners. One Voice.
Zehnthof Luckert is the only estate in the world that cultivates all four Silvaner varieties: Green, Yellow, Red, and Blue Silvaner. More than half of the vineyard area is Silvaner — not by chance, but a deliberate commitment to the grape that has shaped Franken for centuries.
Out of this commitment come wines of unusual range: from the purist Gutswein through the Alte-Reben Ortsweine to the powerful, spicy, deep Maustal Silvaner GG — one of the iconic German white wines, capturing the cool character of the site in a tense Muschelkalk minerality.
In the Cellar — Wood, Lees, Patience
In the cellar, work is consistently done in traditional Doppelstückfässer of Spessart oak — 700- to 5,000-litre wooden casks that have been in use for decades. Spontaneous fermentation with the grapes' own yeasts, long ageing on the full lees, minimal sulphur, bottling without filtration. What lands in the glass is the direct translation of the vineyard — no detours, no makeup.
The result are wines with Luckert's signature: minerality, clarity, structure, and the fine acid line that shows Franken at its most elegant.
What We Particularly Value
At Wein & Nielsen we carry the central line of the estate: from the Zehnthof Silvaner Gutswein as an accessible entry, through the Sulzfelder Ortsweine — including the rare Blue Silvaner and the Alte-Reben Silvaner — to the three VDP.GROSSEN GEWÄCHSE from the Maustal: Silvaner, Riesling, and Spätburgunder. Add to that the two VDP.ERSTEN GEWÄCHSE from Sulzfelder Berg and Sonnenberg "Gelbkalk", the Brunnquell Chardonnay from one of Franken's first Chardonnay plantings, and the aromatic Yellow Muscat. A selection through which you can truly come to know the depth of Sulzfeld.
A Personal Connection
Whoever visits the Luckerts in Sulzfeld senses immediately what makes this estate distinctive: the stillness with which work has been done here for decades, the deep understanding of every parcel, and the trust that old vines, old casks, and the family's patience yield the best result. Franken in its purest and most concentrated form.
Our Selection — Direct from the Estate
At Wein & Nielsen you'll find the Zehnthof Luckert range direct from the estate — from Gutswein through Ortsweine and Erste Lagen to the Großen Gewächse from the Maustal. Bio-certified, ex winery prices.
