2023 Weingut Schafer-Frohlich Weisser Burgunder Trocken 750 ml

Tim Fröhlich is an absolute wizard.

He’s one of the top handful of winemakers in Germany, with a mountain of acclaim and rabid fans across the globe—and it’s pretty clear that his talent is innate, not just learned: He became the winemaker at his family’s estate at the age of 21, and Schäfer-Fröhlich nearly immediately vaulted up into the stratosphere. 

When he took over the Fröhlich family winery, the vineyards around their town, Bockenau, were unknown to wine-lovers—but these days, it’s a given that Schäfer-Fröhlich’s Grosses Gewächs (Grand Cru) bottlings will easily sell for over $100. That’s thanks to unusual dedication in the vineyards, his innate ability to coax magical complexity out of grapes, and also the decision to focus on dry wines long before it was fashionable to do so.

And while he’s best known for his electric Rieslings, one of the hidden gems in his lineup is his Weisser Burgunder—aka Pinot Blanc. The grape has been grown in this corner of Germany for quite some time (though its German name gives a hint to its French origins). It’s grown entirely in Grand Cru sites in his hometown of Bockenau, and that class comes through in this wine.

Pinot Blanc is the electric sibling of Pinot Gris—with a more strongly mineral personality that has an electric acidity driving it forward on the palate. It’s trickier to farm, though, so it’s far less common than Gris, even though in the hands of a winemaker like Fröhlich it has a thrilling combination of steely minerality allied to a richness and texture that allow it to pair with a broad assortment of food.

We love it with seafood of all stripes, but it has the texture to stand up to herb-roasted chicken or pork, and the grace to go with a zesty lemon risotto. Either way, feel free to give it plenty of air when you open it, or age it for a half-decade to develop more richness.