Weingut Zehnthof Luckert is right in the center of the pittoresque village of Sulzfeld, which is completely surrounded by a city wall. The walk to the winery through the village was already most interesting.
In 1970 Theo Luckert purchased the cellars that once belonged to the prince-bishop’s holdings and founded the Weingut Zehnthof. Today his sons Wolfgang and Ulrich manage the estate, with Wolfgang's son Philipp. They own a very special vineyard, the Creutz, with Silvaner vines planted sometime around 1870. There are about 600 vines that only produce 350 bottles a year. Since 2009 the winery has been certified organic. Zehnthof wines in general are produced without a great deal of technology and fermented in large old neutral oak casks. All wines go through malolactic fermentation and are bottled unfiltered.
Philipp Luckert was our host. He showed us around in the fascinating old cellars and sat down with us in the ultra-modern tasting room for a tasting.
Weingut Zehnthof Luckert wines are available in the USA through Vom Boden.
Zehnthof Luckert/ Vom Boden
Are these the oldest vines in Germany?
The Luckerts work what has to be one of the oldest producing vineyards in all of Germany, a Silvaner vineyard called Creutz that was planted sometime in the 1870s.
Think about this: Someone was planting these vines at about the same time Alexander Graham Bell was working on a prototype of the telephone. Thomas Edison was working on the light bulb.
Old vines are soul, that’s our position at least.
Creutz is only about 600 vines (obviously ungrafted) producing around 350 bottles a year. It is a small part of Luckert’s holdings which are, in total, only 17 hectares. This is a family affair, run by brothers Ulrich and Wolfgang Luckert and son Philipp. But the very existence of this vineyard at Luckert captures something of the spirit here, something of the soul.
“Old school” doesn’t quite capture it. The philosophy is more a thoughtful, calming patience; a lot about the estate and the wines remind me of Nikolaihof.
The Luckert boys have been farming organic for a long time (they have been certified since 2009). Every single wine is made exactly the same way: a slow, cool, natural fermentation and elevage in neutral wood. The cellar is a labyrinth filled with barrels, from petite 200 liter numbers up to an intimidating 5,000 liter giant. All the wines go through malolactic; they are bottled unfined. That’s it.
All this might make one think the wines are gooey, cumbersome, low-acid affairs, which couldn’t be further from the truth. They can be textural, yet there is always a lightness to them, like a blanket made out of multiple layers of satin. The wines can have cut, a surprising tension. They call the style “fränkisch trocken,” which I’ll go ahead and translate to really damn dry. The flavors are deep and detailed, yet fresh and cerebral – which is to say they are not necessarily about fruit. Mineral, dried herbs, savory notes.
Someone smarter than I once said that Silvaner is like Chardonnay without fruit. Luckert’s Silvaners are like Chablis from another mother.
The oceans of early-harvested, commercially fermented, sterile-filtered Silvaner have largely destroyed the reputation of this grape, which is a damn shame, because Silvaner can be profound. I’ve seen glimpses of god in even the village-level Silvaner of Luckert.
While the Silvaners are king here, the Luckert boys make a smokin’ Sauvignon Blanc (says someone who for the most part detests Sauvignon Blanc) and a Gelber Muskateller that is mineral and linear.
Weingut Zehnthof Luckert/ VDP
The estate in Sulzfeld derives its name from the prince bishops’ former tithe cellars that the Luckerts purchased in the 1970s. Year after year, in the estate founded by their father, Theo Luckert, Wolfgang and Ulrich Luckert start anew to produce top wines in harmony with nature. Their wines are meant to be individualists, each with an unmistakable, nonexchangeable character marked by both soil and producer. Zehnthof wines are produced without a great deal of cellar technology. They’re fine wines, rich in minerals; made from the best grapes; and slowly develop in large wooden casks – true to the motto of the house: top wine quality for our customers out of love for our profession!
Owner Wolgang und Ulrich Luckert
Winemaker Ulrich Luckert
Outside Manager Wolfang und Ulrich Luckert
VDP member since 1955
Bottle production 90 000
Grape varieties 50% Silvaner, 15% Riesling, 15% Weissburgunder sowie u.a. Müller-Thurgau, Spät- & Frühburgunder, Muskateller & Sauvignon Blanc
Vineyards
MAUSTAL, Sulzfeld | VDP.GROSSE LAGE®
Sonnenberg, Sulzfeld | VDP.ERSTE LAGE®
Berg I, Sulzfeld | VDP.ERSTE LAGE®
The Wines we Tasted
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sulzfelder Gelber Muskateller Trocken
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sulzfelder Silvaner Trocken
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sulzfelder Roter Silvaner Trocken
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sulzfelder Blauer Silvaner Trocken
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sulzfelder Silvaner Alte Reben Trocken
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sonnenberg Silvaner Gelbkalk Trocken
2016 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert MAUSTAL Silvaner GG Trocken
2017 Weingut Zehnthof Luckert Sonnenberg Chardonnay Brunnquell Trocken
Lunch in Sulzfeld
Following the visit of Weingut Zehnthof Luckert we had lunch in Sulzfeld.
Postings: Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken (Published and Forthcoming)
Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Vineyard Tour and Tasting at the Königlicher Weinberg Klausberg Project in Sanssouci, Potsdam
Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Dr. Lindicke in Werder an der Havel, Brandenburg, with Katharina Lindicke
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Born in Salzatal, Saale-Unstrut, with Elisabeth Born - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Vineyard Visit and Wine Tasting Lunch at Weingut Hey in Naumburg, Saale-Unstrut, with Matthias Hey – Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Wine Pairing Dinner at Restaurant Zufriedenheit in Naumburg, with Chef Robert Klaus and his Excellent Food, and Uwe Lützkendorf, Weingut Lützkendorf, and his World-class Wines - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Tasting at Weingut Uwe Lützkendorf, with Uwe Lützkendorf, in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut– Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in the Saale Unstrut Region, Germany
Visit and tasting at Landesweingut Kloster Pforta in Bad Kösen, Saale-Unstrut, with Managing Director Björn Probst
Weingut Kloster Pforta: Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Managing Director Christian Kloss – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Wine and Music:"Martin Luther Lunch" at the Historic Vincenz Richter Restaurant, Weingut Vincenz Richter, in Meissen with Senior Boss Gottfried Herrlich and the Music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven – Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schuh in Coswig, Sachsen, with Katharina Pollmer-Schuh and Matthias Schuh - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Tour and Dinner at Weingut Schloss Proschwitz - Prinz zur Lippe in Zadel, Sachsen, with Georg Prinz zur Lippe - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit and Tasting at the Sächsisches Staatsweingut Schloss Wackerbarth in Radebeul, Sachsen - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Wine and Opera in Dresden: Mozart at Semper Opera and the Best Wines of Sachsen at Wine Bar Weinzentrale in Dresden-Neustadt, with Owner/ Sommelier Jens Pietzonka – Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller's Favorite Winemakers in Sachsen (Saxony), Germany
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Aldinger in Fellbach (Stuttgart), with Matthias Aldinger - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Karl Haidle in Kernen-Stetten, Württemberg, with Moritz Haidle - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Vineyard Tour and Cellar Tour at Weingut Graf Adelmann, Burg Schaubeck, in Steinheim-Kleinbottwar, Württemberg, with Felix Count Adelmann - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Dinner with Felix Graf Adelmann, Weingut Graf Adelmann, at Burg Schaubeck in Kleinbottwar, Württemberg - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Cellar tour and Tasting at Weingut Zehnthof, Theo Luckert in Sulzfeld, Franken, with Philipp Luckert
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Staatlicher Hofkeller in Würzburg, Franken, with General Manager Marcel von den Benken– Germany-East Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit and Tasting at Weingut Am Stein Ludwig Knoll in Würzburg, Franken - Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Wine Pairing Dinner at 1 Michelin Star Restaurant Reisers am Stein and Tasting and Tour at Weingut am Stein Ludwig Knoll, with Winemaker Franziska Schömig - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Rudolf Fürst in Bürgstadt, Franken, with Sebastian Fürst
Tasting and Tour with the Pinot Noir Legend Paul Fürst, Weingut Rudolf Fürst in Bürgstadt, Franken– Germany-East Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Visit and Tasting at Weingut Benedikt Baltes in Klingenberg, Franken: The Wines of Weingut Benedikt Baltes and of Weingut Julia Bertram - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken
Schiller’s Favorites: 2 Legendary Wine Taverns in Würzburg – Juliusspital and Bürgerspital
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Taverns in Würzburg