Brennfleck Maustal Silvaner 2005

With this enthusiastic consumption comes a vinous riddle: what wine do you serve with? While classic French food & wine matching considered asparagus a tricky ingredient that is best avoided, in fact it is fairly versatile. Green asparagus keeps things simple: just stick to a crisp unoaked white wine – whether Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling or something more local like Albariño or Welschriesling – and you can’t go wrong. I’ve also had lucky spells with bone-dry rosé (especially when I serve grilled green asparagus with one of my favourite sauces: romesco).

White asparagus is a little more capricious, being often served with heavy egg-based sauces such as sabayon or hollandaise (these were, in all probability, at the origin of the French reluctance towards serving wine with asparagus). A sturdier type of white wine with a bit of oak – such as Mâcon – is usually OK, as long as it keeps acidity. But a ‘perfect match’ (however controversial the concept) is more difficult to find. Trustworthy sources list a variety of bottles ranging from fino sherry through Chasselas (try to find this on way home tonight…) up to oaked white Pessac.

I have a soft spot for the classic German combination: steamed white asparagus, a light sauce, and Silvaner from Franconia. Franken is a wine region that enjoys a unique combination of high profile among connoisseurs and total obscurity among the wider public. It produces little wine, selling it at rather high prices to a predominantly local market. It also boasts a long historical tradition (Steinwein was a very reputed wine in the 17th century), some fine terroirs (mostly shell limestone and Keuper, a kind of marl), and an excellent track record with its two leading varieties: Riesling and Silvaner. The latter – which you’ll find all around Central Europe from Alsace to Austria and Bohemia – is a local speciality, yielding dense, well-construed wines with spicy fruit, minerality and good ageing potential. With its profile of green apple, white pepper and good crispness, it is also a natural match for white asparagus.

Never did it show more convincing than today with this Sulzfelder Maustal Silvaner Spätlese trocken 2005 from the Brennfleck winery. This up-and-coming estate was relatively unknown back in 2006 when I visited them (and purchased this bottle), but now is very much on the way up. They are still not members of the prestigious VDP association, though, meaning they cannot join the latter’s vineyard classification. Why do I say this? Because this Maustal Silvaner is effectively a Grosses Gewächs, a grand cru of Franconia. A brilliant wine with depth and character.

The wine itself has changed somewhat since my two tastings in May 2006 and August 2007, and today is showing better than expected. No sign of ageing. This has lost its Franken exotic fruit exuberance of youth (which can sometimes be funky when top cru wines smell of canned papaya), and we are left with a much clearer limestone minerality. Not a complex wine but really deep and pure, this is very enticing, and more refined than many a Silvaner. Palate is quite rich and broad but retains respectable acidity and cut; finishes greener, almost lettucey. The only criticism is about the slightly high alcohol (13.5% alc.), but it is nothing outrageous. In a word, don’t serve too warm, but otherwise this is a stellar wine for a lovely price – Brennfleck are offering the current vintage of this for a ridiculous 12€.