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Origin:
Burgenland, Austria
Grape(s):
Blaufrankisch
ABV:
12% ABV
Producer Profile
Gerhard and Brigitte Pittnauer are well-known trailblazers, with a great international reputation. They have an amazing winery which seems to double as a Modern Art Gallery. What has not changed is their love of what they do, their modesty and their kindness in sharing this enthusiasm.
Grape
Blaufrankisch (aka Lemberger and Kékfrankos) is a black-skinned wine grape grown widely in Austria and Hungary. Classic Austrian Blaufrankisch wines are intensely colored, medium-bodied reds with brooding, black-fruit flavors and a hint of peppery spice. Those made around the Neusiedlersee, and in Sudburgenland, can be particularly full-bodied and spicy.
Region
The Heideboden, which means “heather ground”, is a winegrowing region in eastern Austria near Hungary. Although it's a flat region near a large lake, which normally wouldn't be suited for growing vines, the Heideboden has a gravel and sand substrate, which allows for excellent drainage.
Viticulture
BiodynamicThe Pittnauers farm their estate in accordance with biodynamic principles, while fruit bought in from outside the estate will come variously from biodynamic, organic or conventional vineyards. They have a spontaneous and flexible approach to winemaking, seeking to make honest wines reflecting the quality of the fruit, rather than aiming for a standardised perfection from one year to the next. There isn't a laboratory in their winery, decisions being made on tasting rather than analysis. No selected yeasts are used, no enzymes or bacteria added, and the wines are neither chaptalised nor fined.
Vinification
Blaufränkisch is a traditional Austrian grape which is at its best in the Burgenland region. For Pittnauer's Heideboden expression , grapes are picked and selected by hand and fermented in stainless steel, with remontage. Maceration lasts 18 days, and malolactic conversion occurs in the tank, prior to nine months ageing in used barriques.