Blaufränkisch / kékfrankos

The red flight, all made from the same grape variety, called blaufränkisch in Austria and kékfrankos in Hungary (as it happens, also known as lemberger in Germany), and the sweet flight, from each country’s classic botryitised wines, both made perfect comparative sense.

But the white flight was an unfair match, pitting Hungary’s Somló region against Austria’s Wachau. The old volcanic Somló Hill may provide the origin of that region’s best wines, but the ancient primary rock and steep slopes of Wachau viticulture produce more interesting wines.  Added to which, the typical grape varieties grown in Somló – furmint, hárslevelű and olaszrisling – are significantly different from Wachau’s globally-lauded grüner veltliner and riesling.

The Hungarian flight of reds came from four different regions across the country, whilst the Austrians showed the diversity of blaufränkisch across Burgenland.

Blaufränkisch has been developing quietly and successfully as Austria’s flagship red, and in Hungary kékfrankos is the country’s most widely planted red grape variety. In both countries it is made into both blended and single varietal wines.  Fruits of the forest and a rich spiciness of flavour are keynotes of the variety.

If the evidence of this tasting is anything to go by, it’s proving itself to be adaptable to a variety of sites and soils.  Soils varied from rocky loess in Szekszárd, to volcanic andesite in Mátra, to gneiss in Sopron and back to volcanic in Eger, which region neighbours Mátra.  In Austria, notable temperature differences exist between the south and north of Burgenland, with cooler fruit evident in the south.  Soils varied from loam and slate in the south, through clay over shell-limestone, to mica-schist in Leithaberg.

Rocky loess

Silvia Prieler of Weingut Prieler said the diversity of blaufränkisch/kékfrankos styles is “because of different soils. If you plant blaufränkisch on the wrong soil it can have acidity and nothing else, it can be a bit challenging. You need to have clay and rocks for blaufränkisch”, adding “30-35hl/ha is good for quality because it’s a later ripener.”

For the sweets, as one would expect, the botrytis bonanza overrode varietal individuality, whose fundamental contribution is necessarily acidity to balance the lush, spicily-textured botrytis flavours. Thus the Tokajis were all about 70% furmint with the balance of the more aromatic hárslevelű, although six grape varieties are allowed.  On the Austrian side, there is more flexibility of grape variety, with each of the examples shown being from different single grape varieties.

Aszu berries, harvested one by one, are the gold dust of Tokaji.  “If they are over-aged in barrel” said Péter Molnár, the general manager of Patricus Winery said, they “lose the nicest aromatics of apricot, peach, mango and quince.”  

Aszu berries

In Austria sweet wines are made on both sides of steppe lake Neusiedlersee. Heidi Schröck, of her eponymous winery on the west side, where botrytis wines have been made for nearly 500 years, said “without the lake, there would be no botrytis wine. It provides humidity.  And it keeps the heat of day and releases it overnight.”

Tasting notes, London, October 2010

Indigenous white varieties from Somló and Wachau

Somló Abbey Winery, Olaszrizling 2009. Somló
Straw colour, faint oiliness to the nose, in a good way, steely, mildly floral, rich, dry body of fulsome character. Warmth of alcohol (13.5%) at the end of the palate. Smooth texture. Nicely made and proportioned, but no particular personality. Rather soft palate with hints of sweetness erring towards an off-dry status.  

Domaine Kreinbacher, Kőkonyha 2008, Somló
A blend of furmint, harslevelu and olaszrizling.
Straw colour, muted nose, lemon and melon, not so aromatic. Good weight, spiced cream, and fine grainy texture. Warm and rounded texture, but lacking aroma. Nicely balanced, but lacking a little individuality.  

Hollóvár Estate, Hárslevelű 2009, Somló
Lemon-spiced cream. The freshest-tasting of the three, warmth of alcohol (14%) quite evident, not so aromatic, with nutty notes coming through the full-bodied, spicy weight.  

Domäne Wachau, Grüner Veltliner Weissenkirchen Federspiel 2009, Wachau
Fresh, lemon-creme fraiche. Smooth, silky texture, no massive concentration, in accordance with federspiel, gentle and white pepper spicy, easy to appreciate. Uncomplicated and straightforward with a decent finish.

Weingut Knoll, Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg Smaragd  2007
Quite deep lemon colour. Spicy, muted nose, well defined, big volume, depth and concentration of fruit.  Warm, tropical frit, dense and concentrated. Stony, and stone fruit. Elegant with well proportioned body, long finish. Very good.

Domäne Wachau, Riesling Singerriedle Smaragd  2002
Hint of floral petrol emerging on nose, bitumen, honeyed apple, and candied dried pineapple. Rich, concentrated, big volume of fruit. Wafting wood smoke note at back palate from bottle age. Retains some elegance and backbone with age. Mouth-filling, complex, stony, rich, and full; delicious.

Blaufränkisch / kékfrankos: a single red grape variety

Heimann Estate, Baranya-völgyi Kékfrankos 2007, Szekszárd
Medium deep ruby; bright black cherry and tar nose; soft yet crunchy palate, nicely balanced and medium weighted, attractive; alcohol (14%) is entirely integrated.  Approachable wine, not too complex, with some attractive length. Very nice.

Gábor Karner, Vitézföld Kékfrankos 2007, Mátra
Medium deep ruby; oily spice of some new oak influence, fine grained, not-quite-gritty tannins.  Nicely ripe with some chewiness to the core, though the fresh fruit is (currently?) a bit subdued behind the oak tannins. Otherwise nicely balanced and spicy in a medium weighted style. Needs to soften into itself a bit, but looking good.

Ráspi Estate, Gneis Kékfrankos 2007, Sopron
Medium pale, slightly cloudy (a second bottle was the same) cherry colour; wood-smoke and red cherries, slightly reminiscent of a sweet clone pinot noir. Redcurrant, red cherry, sweet, smooth light tannins.  Warmth and sweet fruitiness on the finish, which detracts a little for me.  

Imre Kaló, Kékfrankos 2002, Eger
Medium pale ruby; allspice and crushed cherry compote, hint of mulberry at the back.  Medium to light body, elegant with lovely, delicate concentration and perfume on the palate. Virtually no age showing. Silky smooth texture, with entirely integrated alcohol (14.4%). A revelation for me. Long, bright red berry fruit flavours. Delicious.

Weingut Krutzler, Blaufränkisch Perwolff 2008, Südburgenland
A 5% dollop of cabernet sauvignon is blended into the blaufränkisch in this wine.  Bright, medium deep cherry colour, with a bright, gravelly-graphite nose. There’s a fine chalky note to the fine, young and tight tannins in an elegantly structured whole. Crunchy, bright fruit in a youthful and approachable wine with a long finish.

Weingut Albert Gesellmann, Blaufränkisch Hochberc 2007, Mittelburgenland
Fragrant, wood-smoky, forest-berry fruit nose, warm sweet berries, with youthful, fine -grainy tannins, already mellowing. Medium to full body, erring to rich full body, with rich aromatic spiciness coming through at the end. Smooth mouth-feel, young and well toned, and more than approachable now.  

Weingut Esterhazy, Blaufränkisch Föllig 2008, Burgenland
From Leithaberg: the lake (Neusiedlersee) gives heat and humidity, and the hills, up to 400m, offer coolness and freshness. Bright dark cherry colour. Smoky aromatic oakiness, fine grained and chewy, but not overdone, there’s enough fruit to overcome the oak. Red cherry fruits to the fore on the palate.  This wine has an international-style feel to it – very clean and modern, with perhaps some idiosyncrasy of individually rubbed away.  

Weingut Prieler, Blaufränkisch Goldberg  1999, Burgenland
From Leithaberg. 1999 given as a perfect vintage, to show how blaufränkisch can age.
Warm and fresh berry fruits on the nose. Little real sign of age other than mellow tannins in a rich elegant red-fruit bowl. Just the faintest hint of savoury farmyard. Lovely balance and impression with a long finish. A wholesome and holistic feel to this wine.

Sweet wines of Tokaji and Burgenland

Domaine Disznókő, Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 1999
11.5%, 12.6 g/l TA, 160g/l RS
Amber gold. Complex, oxiditative, nutty, honesuckle, marmalade spectrum, with rich, fresh and tingly acidity. Orange, candied peel, layered, wood-smoke perfume, savoury notes emerging. Delicious, not too sweet perception. Long and complex, but still has freshness.

Patricius Winery, Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2003
10%, 9.1g/l TA, 185g/l RS
Pale gold, fragrant, muscat-grapey aroma, more fresh fruit, and quite unctuous, bit of lifting VA coming mid-palate. Rich and fully sweet. Lush, luscious. Honeyed, tangerine. Not too much obvious complexity, but could be deceptive, it’s all primary fruit at the moment.

Királyudvar Winery, Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos, ‘Lapis Vineyard’ 2005
10%, 11g/l TA, 219g/l RS
Amber-gold, lifting VA, with fat, honeyed, dense, marmalade,. Rich, enveloping sweetness and lushness. Almost full bodied, and with a big, fresh finish, not a hint of cloy. Ripe and dense, young, vibrant. Honeyed, aromatic spicy apricot and quince. Primary fruit to fore.

Heidi Schröck, Furmint Ruster Ausbruch 2007, Burgenland 
12%, 8g/l TA, 228 g/l RS.  100% furmint
Lemon gold. Iodine, lifted VA in a complex nose, spicy, nutty, tropical fruit.  Dense, fat, tropical sweetness in the core, with freshness along the sides of the tongue. Complex palate, savoury and fruity, tropical, quince, tangerine, many layered and enticing. Very long finish.

Weingut Esterhazy, Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese “Kulm” 2004, Burgenland
10.5%, 12 g/l TA, 257 g/l RS. 100% welschriesling
Rich, gold colour; smoky and bright oakiness. Clean and ‘international’, with only modest individuality.  Big, fat, a bit more straightforward, with richly honeyed, quince fruits and a fresh finish.  

Weingut Kracher, Scheurebe TBA Nr. 11 2006, Neusiedlersee, Burgenland
9%, 7.9 g/l TA, 299 g/l RS. 100% scheurebe.
Golden colour. Bright elderflower aroma on nose. Light and intense nose, and intense palate. Richly fruity, elderflower, perfume, white blossom. Lightness of being with immense concentration. Stunningly good. All fresh, zingy, primary fruit. Long finish.

Country Blaufränkisch: Austria’s ABC

Rust architecture

Austria, with less than one per cent of global wine production is a hot-house of innovation and aspiration for its red wine producers, who account for about 35% of production, and increasing.  It is only in the last generation that any sort of serious red wine tradition has developed. And as was seen, for example, with the rapid evolution of Australian chardonnay from heavily worked and highly oaked to increasingly moderated expressions and unoaked styles, so Austria is in the midst of revolution with its reds, finding its best expressions, and all on a microscopic scale of vineyard holding and vineyard site which seems more reminiscent of Burgundy, also with family-owned, family-named wineries. Factor in the different indigenous grape varieties that bless Austria and a jigsaw puzzle of minutiae emerges to delight the connoisseur and confound the debutant.

Just a generation ago, Austrian wine was made to be drinkable straight away, and reds were vinified almost as white wines – low tannins, some residual sugar – a red coloured liquid without any of the features of red wine, often to meet market demand, especially from Germany, which has undergone a parallel red wine reform. Dr. Josef Schuller MW, managing director of the Austrian Wine Academy said: “the tradition of producing great red wines was not there, so what evolved in the 80s and 90s were deep, darkly coloured wines. Through the 80s, the trend was to stop producing reds with residual sugar, and to start using new wood. It was in the 80s that malolactic fermentation was a hot topic in Austria” Schuller added that the taste of new oak – ‘neuerl’ used to be considered a fault by the wine quality board, and that this changed only in the 80s. A mid 1980s visit by Burgenland producers to Bordeaux helped revolutionise the red wine landscape. Structure, earthy dryness, tannin, power, oak became the new bywords for quality, and the evolution of style and place continues.

There are fewer than 12,000 hectares (ha) of red grape vineyards in all of Austria. While there are smatterings of red vineyards throughout the country, even in the whiter than white renowned growing districts,  Burgenland is the heartland, homeland and hero region for red wine production with over 40% of red plantings. The vast Weinviertal, to the north of Vienna, also has big holdings, mainly of zweigelt and portugieser.

The four areas of Burgenland comprise the key red wine areas, and all are influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the continental Pannonian climate coming from the Hungarian steppes to the east, and by the large, shallow lake Neusidedl.

• Neusiedlersee – to the east of the lake
• Neusiedlersee-Hügelland – to the west of the lake
• Mittelburgenland – to the south of the lake
• Südburgenland – a little bit further to the south of the lake

Neusiedlersee

Neusiedlersee

Neusiedlersee is the only middle European steppe lake, and it is right at the western edge of the Pannonian plains. This large shallow lake, with an average depth of one metre, at about 100m above sea level, lake regulates climate in an important way. While up to 40% of the lake evaporates each year, creating humidity for botrytis to develop for sweet wines, a little further around the lake, black grapes come into their own. Zweigelt and blaufränkisch dominate, with some pinot noir, sankt laurent, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

While the axis of Apetlon and Illmitz conjure images of rich, sensuous sweet wines, it is the trapezium of Gols, Mönchhof, Podersdorf, and Frauenkirchen on the north east perimeter of the lake that is the core of red production.

From the northernmost tip of the lake a distinct ridge runs from the north west to the south east immediately above Gols and Mönchhof, 30-50m above the plains. On the gentle slopes of this ridge are some of the best vineyard sites for reds on this side of the lake, such as Ungerberg, Altenberg, Salzberg and Gabarinza.  The ridge leads up to the Parndorf plateau, where, Axel Stiegelmar of Weingut Juris says: “It’s slightly cooler because of the wind, therefore earlier ripening varieties such as pinot noir and sankt laurent are better suited.” The slopes on the other hand are deemed best for later ripening blaufränkisch, and merlot.

This is the home of the Pannobile group of growers. One of the features of Austrian wine growing is the number of growers’ groups, where usually a dozen or so growers have banded together to promote their wines, or to set a standard for what they think is the best that they or their area can produce. So for a wine to carry the ‘Pannobile’ label, it must be a minimum 85% local varieties.  It is usually a blend, from different soils and different grape varieties. Gerhard Pittnauer, relative newcomer to the Pannobile group said: “North Burgenland changed to a red wine region about 20 years ago. It is a perception of minimum quality, with group dynamics and competition for quality, and shared costs of marketing.  It’s a good way to  make a region better known. Pannobile should express quality and typicity, also personality of the winemaker. It is a good climate for discussion.”

Helmuth Renner one of the founding members of the Pannobile group, typifies the small scale of production in Austria.  Renner is the first generation of the family who works only with wine.  Their business used to be mixed farming, as in much of this area. His grandfather, who was a miller, started wine production in 1950. And his father was one of the first to plant chardonnay, in the 60s. Renner said of the region “production is split 50:50 red and white, but in the next 10 to 20 years, it will be 70% red.” Their own production is 80% red, with nearly all his vineyards up and near the slopes.   

A new group – Select Gols – has recently established itself, focusing purely on indigenous grape varieties: zweigelt, pinot noir, sankt laurent and blaufränkisch.  Pinot noir has been in Austria for long enough to count as indigenous.

The growers’ groups reflect more general winemaking trends, especially whether to blend solely indigenous varieties, or to add the likes of cabernet sauvignon, merlot or syrah. The Pannobile, for example, can have up to 15% of international varieties in the blend. Debate on these style differences will continue: as elsewhere in the world, when it is blended with indigenous varieties, there comes a point at which cabernet sauvignon dominates a blend and indigenous flavours are lost.

On this subject Josef Umathum says: “I want to have Austrian fruit in the wine. In the 80s and 90s there were lots of blends, now the trend is back to single varietal, and back to Austrian varieties, back to blaufränkisch and sankt laurent and less to pinot noir.”

Gernot and Heike Heinrich, are master craftspeople of both varietal wine and single vineyard wines (blends), with that international twist. They own 10ha of the 14ha Gabarinza vineyard, as well as part of the Salzberg vineyard. Heinrich says he uses “the upper slope, with gravel and more humus for zweigelt, the middle slope, with sand, clay, no humus for blaufränkisch, and the lower slope again for zweigelt. Zweigelt needs more humus as it does not like to suffer, and blaufränkisch does better on heavier soil.”

Heinrich says: “zweigelt has darker fruit, more black cherry, softer tannin, fuller body, lacks the length, tannin, structure of a good blaufränkisch, therefore it´s good for blending.” Both his Salzberg and Gabarinza single vineyard wines are blended with merlot, which he says offers ripeness, power and ageing potential.

Neusiedlersee-Hügelland

Over on the west side of the lake, Rust is the centre for sweet wine production, with red wine producers located here too, and the Leitha Hills to the west of the lake provide vineyards for dry whites and reds.

Leitha Hills soils

The slate and limestone Leitha Hills, where a mix of red and white varieties are grown, range up to 300-325m above sea level, and provide a 35km border to the north west, protecting the vineyards of Neusiedlersee-Hügelland from cool northerly winds.  Vineyards are located on the gentle south and south east facing slopes, garnering warmth from the lake.

Hans Nehrer said “Blaufränkisch is late ripening so not found so high up the slopes. Zweigelt can go higher and pinot noir, because both are earlier ripening. The sun goes down pretty fast too, so we have good diurnal temperature variations which can be up to 20°C.”

Mittelburgenland

To the south of the lake and into the pre-Alps, this hilly, forested region is pitched as ‘blaufränkisch country’, and wine production, on 2000 ha, three quarters of it red, is concentrated in a west-east running series of slopes from Neckenmarkt and Horitschon in the west to Deutschkreutz in the east, right on the Hungarian border. Before 1921, the region’s main city was Sopron, which has remained Hungarian. Here soils are deep, heavy sands and loams, and some of the vines qualify for old status at up to 80 years.  

This broad valley range, 230 to 350m above sea level is surrounded on three sides by hills, the Odenburger Hills to the north, Rosalien Hills to the west, and Geschriebenstein Hills to the south, with the weather mostly coming from the east, unless rains and storms come up from the south. For this reason, cover crops are more likely to be found in this region.   Franz Weninger of Weingut Weninger said: “The climate is influenced by Neusiedlersee, but there is no direct contact. Warm air seeps up the valley from the east.”

Mittelburgenland

As befits its moniker, blaufränkisch is the main grape of the region, late-ripening, during the middle to end of October.  It’s cooler here, a bit higher, a bit wetter, harvest is maybe a week later, so the acidity of blaufränkisch is a bit fresher, and fruit characters trend to crisp red and sour cherry, with a peppery and sometimes herbaceous note; tannins can be more linear. But the degree of freshness and lift offered by a hint more acidity adds an element of elegance to the best wines that’s not always found closer to the lake. 

There is more chalk in the soil at Neckenmarkt, vines are on the higher slope, up to 350m, and the top site, qualitatively and altitudinally, Hochberg, has deep water storage capability in its loam soils. On the south side, Horitschon, 100m lower, has loam and loess soils.  Over to the east, Deutschkreutz has more gravel, with lighter, loess soils and stones which retain moisture and warmth, giving fuller wines with creamy texture and heavier tannin.

Anton Iby’s red wines come from the three main Horitschon vineyards: Hochäcker, Dürrau, Gfanger. He spoke of the extreme content of clay in the heavy soil, saying these are the oldest vineyards in Horitschon, because they could not grow white varieties in the heavy soil, and so had not been replanted. He said:  ”fruit and high ripe phenols are important. I learnt a lot in Priorat about fine ripe structure – most is fruit, next is tannin and the acid level should be present, but not dominant.”

Roland Velich, of Apetlon renown, is working with some aplomb in Mittelburgenland under the Moric label with blaufränkisch. He said: “we´re in a northern country, the aim is cool, elegant wines driven by finesse. It’s warmer than Burgundy. Blaufränkisch ripens a little before cabernet sauvignon. Sometimes we get the spicy expression of syrah but we can get the silky textures of pinot noir”

“Burgenland has a Pannonic situation; it is more connected with wines of Hungary. We aim for origin, typicity, the character of the grape varieties and not of oak; elegance of fruit, a mineral nerve which keeps freshness in the wine and makes it ageworthy. A classic European expression. should be drinkable, we don’t want to produce monsters.” They are using notably tiny amounts of new oak.

Südburgenland

About 100km south of Horitschon, and with 450 dispersed hectares, Südburgenland is the small southern settlement of red wine production in Austria. With a mild Pannonian climate, old blaufränkisch is grown in iron-rich soils, adding an element of spice and concentration in the best examples.  Production is focused on neighbouring villages of Eisenberg and Deutsch-Schützen. 

While there are about 500 producers in Südburgenland, many of them hobbyists, Krutzler is the most noted producer, especially with the Perwolff blend of blaufränkisch with 10% cabernet sauvignon.

The overt oak odyssey: over and out?

For sure there are plenty of tasty styles of wine made in big old wood and other inert vessels, but it is the top cuvées that make the noise for Austrian reds.  For these, the honeymoon period is probably not over yet for ostentatious, overt oak, but some of the best producers seem to be drawing back a little from its sometimes dominating vanilla and cream, toast and spice notes, letting the fruit shine through.  Moric may be one of the vanguard in this respect.

Franz Weninger says “you have to be really careful with wood.  Blaufränkisch is the great red variety of Austria, with great ageing potential. It is mainly the fruit-acid balance which holds the wine, not the tannin. Barrique was quite heavy in the last 10 years, most winemakers are now finding the right way of using wood.”