St. Emilion

A settlement was founded here by an 8th century monk, called Emilion, on the highest point of the limestone ridge, at around 100m above sea level. It’s a short, but gymnastically steep distance from the top at the Place du Clocher where the 15th century bell tower was built over the monolithic church, and the Place du Marché at the bottom of the slope.

Indeed the middle ages were the town’s heyday, after the golden age of pilgrimages in Europe had made the town a stopping place on the route to Santiago de Compostela, in the north western tip of Spain.

A long religious and political history surrounds the town and the vineyard culture, and a guided tour organised from the tourist office will furnish you with so much more than interesting stories of monks and nuns, the English rule during the 12^th century when responsibility for the quality of the wine was given to twelve men, who also had jurisdiction over the town and it environs.

An hour and a half’s guided tour, available from the tourist office, will take in the hermit’s cave, the catacombs, Trinity chapel and the monolithic church. This latter is carved out of the limestone escarpment, with perfect proportions as though it had been constructed rather than excavated. It was once lavishly decorated and embellished, but time and dampness have taken their toll.  Nonetheless two masses are held inside each year.

For anyone with a vinous bent, but not having made private appointments to visit wine properties, the tourist office also offers various wine tasting, visit and tour options.

If you want to stay in the vineyards rather than the town, Château Franc Mayne has nine rooms at its adjacent Le Relais de Franc Mayne. Each of the rooms is individually and uniquely designed: a blood-red and black Asian-theme; the muted browns and tans of the French country theme. I stayed in the richly decorated ‘British landscape’ room and felt like a welcome intruder into a plush country pile. The room looked out onto what they call a ‘natural swimming pool’ which the fluff said is ‘biologically purified using plants and micro-organisms”, with a regeneration zone and a filtration zone.  It looked pretty, and relaxing, with vineyard views.  

Franc Mayne limestone quarry

The Château has its own quarries on the property, dating from the 12^th and 13^th centuries, as do most of the quarries around St. Emilion, where barrels of the estate wine mature for 12 months. With a pretty constant 13°C and 80% relative humidity, these are decent natural conditions for wine maturation. And much like the monolithic church it looks as though the quarry walls have been constructed, with neat block lines, rather than deconstructed.

There’s an old post house (for the post/mail) on the Franc Mayne property which has just been renovated to become a new, dedicated tasting room, so the tour now takes you all the way through their quarry, emerging at the post house, ready to taste.

After which, a delightful 20 minute walk/30 minute stroll through the vineyards, coming out at the back of Beauséjour-Bécot, will take you the 1 kilometre into St. Emilion town, where the restaurant L’Envers du Décors is undoubtedly one of the best-known, and characterful watering holes, where the tables are topped with the branded ends of wines’ wooden boxes. Food was tasty, too.

A bit further out of St. Emilion, across the Dordogne and into the Entre-Deux-Mers, is one of the most family-friendly winery properties in Bordeaux.  Château Cablanc lies in a protected nature reserve in the valley of the river Gamage, a tributary of the Dordogne. The reserve offers protection for such rare species as the European mink and four species of orchid. But dogs are still allowed, though not in the cellar.

Jean-Daniel Debart is the third generation to run the property. Since his grandfather bought the property 50 years ago, the vineyard has expanded to 60 ha, and the whole estate covers almost 120 ha of secluded farm and woodland. 

Cablanc activity trail

This surrounding restive woodland provides the terrain for Debart’s ‘secrets of the valley’ nature trail.  It is a fun discovery trail for children and the child in all of us. Kids are given quiz and activity sheets appropriate to their age, and the family can spend a couple of hours on the trail, learning about woodland, the vineyard and wine. There are a series of shuttered boxes on the trail as part of the activities.  At the top of the hill is a play and picnic area, and if you’ve forgotten to bring your own, picnics can be bought at the château.

Jean-Daniel, with three young boys of his own, has even managed to make the winery and cellar tour child-friendly and educational for all.  It includes the use of toy machines to explain harvest, and listening to a recording of fermenting wine as a red strobe light flickers inside an empty vat. Adults get to taste the finished product in a tasting room that includes a table and chairs with colouring equipment and word games for younger ones.

For all of this, Château Cablanc has won the Great Wine Capitals of the world ‘Best of’ award for Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices.

Heading back across the river Dordogne, into the right bank, and 45 km north of Bordeaux city, is Blaye, where the citadel just last year (2008) became another in the clutch of Unesco world heritage sites for the Bordeaux region. 

Blaye citadel fortifications

Blaye is not really a promontory, but more of a slight and strategic bulge into the Gironde estuary, and giving good enough reconnaissance for the Romans to have established a military base on the rocky protuberance.

The bulge narrows the estuary sufficiently for a more recent ferry service to be sited there, going to Lamarque (between Margaux and St. Julien communes), which avoids the long schlep into, through, and out again, of Bordeaux city to access the left bank.

The Roman base was replaced by a medieval fortress, and it was Vauban (Sébastien le Prestre, field marshall Vauban, b. 1633, d. 1707) who was the architect of the current imposing fortifications, one of 33 fortresses he created.

Blaye had evidently long been a key strategic defensive point for Bordeaux, and Vauban endeavoured to seal off the entire Gironde from marauding ships, by also constructing a fortress on the left bank – Fort Médoc – and on an island in between – Fort Paté.  The Blaye citadel alone covers 33 hectares, or ¾ of a kilometre at its longest and nearly ½ kilometre at its widest.

The citadel is free to enter, there’s even a campsite at its heart, but it’s well worth booking a guided tour, both for the wealth of information as well as access to otherwise locked labyrinthine underground parts of the citadel. For the knowledge-hungry, the tourist office has a comprehensive document, all in English, detailing the history of Blaye’s citadel and Vauban’s influence.

The Romans didn’t just build a military base, they also brought vines, as to other parts of Bordeaux, and Blaye’s vineyards now extend over some 10,000 hectares.  The region’s wines can be identified on the label by the appellation: Côtes de Bordeaux – Blaye.   

La Rose Bellevue

It is in this appellation that another touristic gem lies, right up in the top corner of the right bank, 20km north of Blaye, before the land heads off into Cognac territory. This is the poetically named Château La Rose Bellevue, where there is a pink and purple theme that’s close to my heart. Even the winery doors and several unused barrels are painted nearly-purple.

Winemaker Jérôme Eymas, fourth generation at the property, has a clutch of high profile work on his CV, including with Pfeiffer in Australia’s Rutherglen and Domaine Michel and Stéphane Ogier in Côte-Rôtie.   

Aside from the refreshing wines, both of which whites – the Cuvee Tradition, and the barrel fermented Prestige – were really rather nice, it is for organising boat trips on the Gironde estuary that this enterprising property has more recently made its name, winning the Great Wine Capitals’ ‘Best of’ award for Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences in 2009.

Jérôme Eymas in the secret garden

Leaving from Blaye port floating dock, the three hour tour includes wine tasting, a seafood lunch of oysters, langoustines, mussels, shrimps etc., and the ebullient Jérôme regaling you with his wines and quirky sense of humour.

If that’s enough to entice an exploration to the property itself, their ‘secret garden’, with a bring-your-own food barbecue, and pétanque, offers a more laid back way to enjoy a visit, and taste the wines.  The ‘secret garden’ is more akin to ‘living alcoves’ of pink roses, evergreen bushes and a cherry tree planted by Jérôme’s grandfather.  And if you’ve arrived sans picnic, you can buy one made up of local produce from the château. The secret garden creates a lovely image, the vineyard is right there, and Jérôme is a full-on friendly cellar guide. 

Having had your fill of winery visits extra cases can be added at Planète Bordeaux.  Or if you don’t have time to spend a luxurious day or two exploring the picturesque, rolling, mixed countryside of the right bank, you can pop the 30 minutes or so out of Bordeaux city and make a selection from the more than 1,000 producers of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur, that are stocked at this maison du vin. The wines are sold at the same price as at the Châteaux.

In addition to a well stocked cellar Planète Bordeaux offers visitors a listen, read and sniff exploration of wine and winemaking. There are loads of sniff and learn aromas: blackcurrant, oak, citrus, grapefruit, the whole spectrum of flavours in the glass. And there’s a series of educational spaces which take the visitor through grape growing, harvest and winemaking. It needs a bit of updating, but if you’re short of time or an enthusiastic oeno-neophyte, this could be a good starting point to get a feel for the basics.

This article was inspired by a visit to the region in May 2009 sponsored by the CIVB. 

Rainbow on Montsant

The microscopically concertina-ed hilly landscape of remote, picturesque Priorat (Catalan)/ Priorato (Castilian) is not for the faint-hearted or travel-sickly, but it is well worth the pain and consequences of both to appreciate the scenery and the wines.

The small region is located in the province of Tarragona. It’s about 90 miles and a couple of hours’ drive south west of Barcelona, tracking the coastline before finally heading inland.

It’s roughly 10 kilometres across at its widest point, by about 12 km north to south, and is protected by the Sierra de Montsant in the northwest. The mountain gives its name to another DO, Montsant, which almost completely encircles Priorat (separate article will follow shortly). The vineyards range from 100m to 700m above sea level, necessarily on terraces due to the tightly-folded mountainous terrain. The river Siurana runs through Priorat into the river Ebro on its way from the Rioja region to the Mediterranean sea.

Scala Dei

Priorat takes is name from a priory – the Priorato de Scala Dei (Priory of the Stairway of God) – after an Order of Carthusian monks arrived in 12th century.  The winery in this tiny settlement, Scala Dei, is now owned by Cava house Codorníu).

So vines have been grown in Priorat for centuries, but the wines achieved acclaim as recently as the 1990s, after a ground-breaking group of growers moved in to the tiny hilltop village of Gratallops to make wine. In 1979, it was René Barbier of Clos Mogador, whose family business was relatively nearby in Penedès, who first recognised the region’s potential to produce top quality wine. The friends started by producing a wine each labelled ‘Clos’ to distinguish themselves from the traditional rustic, baked fruit style of wine from the region.

They were, with the current names of their properties:

1989 was their first vintage, at which time the vineyard area had dropped to a low point of about 600 ha. After phylloxera, and after the Civil War, the region was quite isolated, and during the 1940s and ’50s people were migrating to the industrialising cities of Tarragona and Barcelona.

Howling of the wolves

It was at the hilltop village, and heartbeat of ‘new’ Priorat, Gratallops, that these late 20^th century pioneers congretated. This is a village that has barely changed for years, but has seen a regrowth in population to 300 thanks to Priorat’s revival. Gratallops translates as ‘howling of the wolves’, reflecting the fauna of its original remote location; local art installations pay homage to this heritage.

Their early success in crafting top quality wines, often from very old vines and small yields, has drawn in numerous other people to the region, both Spanish and foreign investors. Further acknowledgement was achieved when the DOQ (Catalan)/ DOCa (Spanish) was awarded in 2000, effective from the 2000 vintage. Up till then only Rioja DOCa had the highest quality level of the Spanish wine system.

Mechanisation is virtually impossible in this terrain, and it is the combination of soils and grape varieties that create the serendipitous conditions for strong, muscular red wines that yet retain a certain amount of attractive freshness that is not often found in the warm, sometimes hot, Mediterranean climate of much of Spain.

There are 1,600 hectares (ha) of vines, 40% planted to garnacha (grenache in French), another 30% planted to cariñena (carignan in France), plus 20% to international interlopers cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah, thought to ’soften’ the dense, dark, spiciness of the other two. There’s also 100ha of garnacha blanca and macabeo (a.k.a. viura, as in Rioja). Alvaro Palacios, of the eponymous winery, may be drawing away from the international varieties, but Carles Pastrana with his Clos de l’Obac is happy that the three comprise more than 50% of the blend.

Llicorella with root network

The llicorella soil, a local name for the rocky slate and schist which is rich in sparkly quartzite, provides one of the defining characters for Priorat wines. Palacios, who is now more famous for his top L’Ermita wine, said the llicorella is a “metamorphic rock, formed under the earth’s crust where two horizons of limestone had compacted a layer of clay. It has three times more metals and minerals than sedimentary rock [that has not undergone metamorphosis]. The slate is red brown at Finca Dofi, with lots of iron oxide, and very warm. At L’Ermita, there is cooler green slate, which has higher aluminium and zinc.” The exposition and altitude of these two vineyards is also different, but the llicorella is argued to have a primary role in each wine’s flavour profile.

Thin clay layers are important. The region has less than 400mm annual rainfall, which would usually demand irrigation for vineyards, and some irrigation does exist here. But not everywhere. Palacios added: “we have 35% clay in the licorella. The layers of slate have clay powder in between which retain moisture.” Barbier added that vine roots penetrate the llicorella, and a fine mat of roots develops in the layers where the moist clay powder resides, able to draw on the moisture. With the tiny yields garnered by top producers, it would seem that this is sufficient to keep the vine watered through the dry Mediterranean summer.

Clos Mogador

For producers such as Barbier and Palacios, working the land as naturally as possible is important. The amphitheatre of the narrowly-terraced Clos Mogador vineyard is covered with grasses and flowers in Spring, which are mown by hand-held strimmer after they’ve flowered, to give the vine more air. The foliage is then ploughed into the soil over the summer. Barbier is a man convinced by the benefits of biodiversity, and retains the traditional cherries, almonds, peaches, and olives interspersed with his vineyards.

Over the past three or four years Priorat producers have been developing a ‘village’ concept for some of their wines. Called ‘Vi de Vila’ (wine of the village), all the fruit used must come from the property of the producer and be within the newly-defined viticultural boundaries of the village (which differ from the administrative boundaries). The idea is that each village may have (or become to have) its own identity. Thus Palacios’ new Vi de Vila is called Gratallops, as the vines are within the Gratallops borders. The first vintage, 2007, will be released during 2009. Other villages include Porrera, Poboleda and Bellmunt.

Vintage conditions are also important in this warm area. 2003, 2004 and 2005 were very hot. 2006, 2007 and 2008 were a little cooler. This shows in the wines, with greater elegance and freshness (acidity) in the more recent vintages. The wines retain their famed muscularity and broad shoulders, but a little coolness seems to tone their brute strength and slim the waist to more attractive proportions.

Such is the region’s stellar reputation that producers are still coming to Priorat, with the number reaching nearly 100, from about 70 in the last quarter of 2008. But they pay the price for land. What cost less than €1,000/ha 30 years ago, was costing something like €60 to €80,000 /ha a couple of years ago.

This article was inspired by a visit to the region sponsored by Wines from Spain.

Palacios was one of René Barbier’s group of friends who resurrected the wines of Priorat in the late 1980s and 1990s with his Clos Dofi (later renamed to Finca Dofi). His Priorat property was founded in 1989, when there were only 600 hectares (ha) of vineyard left in the largely abandoned wine region.

His Priorat property is 30 ha. He also works with 110 producers and 150 parcels.  The densely-folded mountain terrain necessitates terraces and vineyard parcels can be quite tiny.

L’Ermita is his most famous vineyard. It’s a north-facing, so away from the sun in the northern hemisphere, single vineyard slope at 400 to 520m above sea level, planted only to garnacha.

With more than 20 years experience in Priorat, Palacios has begun to move away from using international grapes such as cabernet sauvignon in his wines.  He says he’s favouring more of the traditional garnacha. His wines still contain the international varieties, but, he said: “all the wines will be more and more garnacha.”

Alvaro Palacios

He is also reverting from trellised vines to the bush training of the original vineyards. He said: “I’ve realised in the last years of heat and drought the bush vineyards are better.  The ‘bush’ is close to ground, so the sap does not have far to travel. And there is no humidity to avoid.” Trellis training is usually higher, as it is traditionally found in areas where humidity needs to be avoided.  Also, he added: “On trellises, grapes are exposed to the sun. On bush vines, the fruit is in the shade,” so in a warm to hot Mediterranean climate, the fruit does not burn and become raisined on the vine.

Priorat wines:

• L’Ermita. 100% garnacha on a north facing granite slope of 1.75ha.
• Finca Dofi: a ‘modern’ style, according to Palacios, coming from young vines and fruit he doesn’t use for L’Ermita. North and east facing slopes on limestone.
• Gratallops. A new wine in 2009, from the 2007 vintage. A wine from the village.
• Les Terrasses: 9ha estate in Gratallops. North-east/south-west and east aspect. 250 to 350m asl.
• Camins del Priorat: a new wine in 2009, from the 2007 vintage.

Tasting notes (tasted March 2009, at the property)

Camins del Priorat 2007: 55% carinena, 35% garnacha, rest cabernet sauvignon and syrah.  Fresh, supple, red fruits, silky texture, really approachable. Sweet fruit.

Les Terrasses 2007: For the first time in 2007, the wine is made from old vines, 60 years plus. 60% carinena, 30% garnacha, some cabernet sauvignon and syrah. 12 months in barrique, 25% new.  Spicy, red berried fruit, with attractive fragrance.  Elegant, defined. Rich fruit.

Gratallops, Vi de Vila, 2007: 35% garnacha, 40% carinena, cabernet sauvignon. Chewy, bright, fresh, linearity and poise, good concentration, and depth of fresh fruit. Balance and deportment. Long finish, vg

Finca Dofi 2007: 55% garnacha, rest cabernet sauvignon, syrah. Bit of merlot in cooler vintages such as 2007.  Deep colour, fresh, bright, crunchy berry and cherry, finely grained youthful tannins. Long palate length. Sensual texture. Medium full body, smoothening mid-palate.

L’Ermita 2007: medium deep colour; cherry, bitter chocolate, liquorice. Sweet spice to the red berry fruit. Succulence of fruit, no massive bulk/hulk; elegance and finesse. Fine textured sweet tannins.

L’Ermita 2008: bright medium cherry colour. Pure cherry and strawberry, light yet with concentration, finely grained tannins, very serious wine with intellect.

This article was inspired by a visit to the region sponsored by Wines from Spain.

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.”