The estate is located in the village of Randersacker (Maindreieck area) in the Franken wine-growing region in Germany. The name (Schmitt’s children) goes back to a group of heirs around 1910. After the owners at the time had died, the children and heirs did not divide up the property as was usual in the Franken region. Instead, they worked the vineyards together, and marketed the wines jointly under the „Schmitt's Kinder“ label. The current owner Karl Martin Schmitt is considered to be one of the pioneers of quality wine in Franken. After completing his oenological studies at the college in Geisenheim, and gaining some international experience, his son Martin Johannes is also working at the estate again. The vineyard area totals just on 19 hectares, with holdings in the Pfülben, Marsberg, Sonnenstuhl and Teufelskeller sites, all in Randersacker. The area is planted with the following varieties: Silvaner (5,1 ha), Müller-Thurgau (3,3 ha), Bacchus (2,5 ha), Riesling (2,0 ha), Domina (1,3 ha), Pinot Noir (0,9 ha), Pinot Blanc (0,8 ha), Scheurebe (0,6 ha) and Rieslaner (0,6 ha). There are plans to concentrate more on classical varieties in furute. The area planted with Müller-Thurgau and Bacchus is constantly being reduced, and replanted with Riesling, Silvaner and Pinot Blanc. The proportion of red wines is also increasing, The first Pinot Noir was harvested from a recently-planted vineyard in 2004. Traditional large oak barrels as well as stainless steel tanks are used for fermentation and maturation. Small batches of selected white and red wines are matured in barriques. With the top-quality wines, particular attention is paid to the clear expression of terroir. No vineyard sites are stated on the labels of the more basic wines. In 2002, a small part of the production was bottled in flute-shaped bottles with stainless steel crown caps for the first time. In the meantime, a large portion of the traditional Bocksbeutel bottles now use a high-quality screw-cap closure. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines are also produced. The estate is a meber of the VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitäts-Weingüter) association, and is one of five members of the TRIAS association in Franken.
The vintage 2006
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The quality of the range this year is extremely uneven, to an extent that I have not seen before from this producer. In particular the Auslese wine – usually a speciality of the house – are totally lacking in the usual pure fruit and breeding. Even some of the more basic wines appear unripe, and are already fading away. On the other hand there are some excellent dry Riesling Spätlese wines characterised by powerful mineral notes, among the finest wines tasted of this vintage. In spite of the few successful wines, the development in this vintage is cause for concern.
Franconia/Franken: Randersacker
Marsberg, Riesling, White wine, late harvest (Spaetlese), dry, 11.50 €
The range of wines of the 2000 vintage is extremely good, and shows no weaknesses. One wine is better than the other. All of them sparkle with pure, clean fruit and intense gripping mineral notes. The best wines are the tremendous Rieslaner Beerenauslese as well as a superb Riesling Auslese from the Pfülben vineyard, showing juicy fruit, elegance, balance and complexity that are quite enchanting. I rather expect that in a year or two my current ratings will prove to have been too conservative. A few other wines, too, still have the potential to improve with time. A big compliment to the producer!
Franconia/Franken: Randersacker
Ewig Leben, Bacchus, White wine, late harvest (Spaetlese), 9.10 €
Two excellent Rieslaner wines mark the pinnacle of the range presented this year. In addition, the Riesling Spätlese as well as the dry Silvaner Spätlese are also outstanding, and are likely to improve with some maturation.
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