Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Blaufränkisch Ried Golser Ungerberg offers a coolish, dark, spicy, peppery and toasty bouquet that is cooler than the Spiegel. On the palate, this is a lush and generous, full-bodied and juicy Blaufränkisch with spicy tannins and a long, intense, saline, nervy and tensioned finish.
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Wine & Spirits
This vineyard rises up above the northeastern tip of Lake Neusiedl, where this wine developed its potent green- and black-fig flavors along with a rigid structure, its tannins wrapping the fruit like a tight woolen jacket. Give it time in the cellar to mellow.
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Wine Spectator
A well-crafted expression of Blaufränkisch, with red fruit and smoked plum framed firmly by fine tannins. Shows brooding smoke, tar and charred apple wood notes, while mouthwatering acidity keeps this fresh. Drink now through 2030.
Inky magenta with aromas of violets, herbs and spices, Blaufrankisch first appeared in Austria in the 18th century and today is the second most planted red variety in Austria after its own offspring, Zweigelt. Blaufrankisch thrives in the warmer Austrian zones and while most of the global acreage remains here, the variety has travelled a bit outside of its homeland. Somm Secret—In pre-Medieval times grapes were divided into superior quality, those whose origins lay with the Franks, called “Frankisch,” and all others, which were deemed inferior. This well-revered grape took the name, blau (meaning blue or dark) plus, “Frankisch,” or Blaufrankisch.
The source of Austria’s finest botrytized sweet wines, Burgenland covers a lofty portion of Austria's wine producing real estate. It encompasses the smaller regions of Neusiedlersee, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland, Mittelburgenland and Südburgenland. The latter two are most associated with their exceptional red wines. The region as a whole produces no shortage of important whites.
Neusiedlersee, named for the lake that it surrounds to the east, is home to a great diversity of grape varieties. The region’s most notable wines, however, are the botrytis-infected, sweet versions.
Neusiedlersee-Hügelland, which wraps the lake on its western side, includes the town of Rust, a historically esteemed wine community. Its close proximity to the lake’s fog and mist make it another source of some of the more prestigious botrytized wines. Neusiedlersee-Hügelland also produces fine Blaufränkisch, Pinot Blanc, Neuburger and Grüner Veltliner, though a label will usually name the more general, Burgenland, so as not to confuse it with its eastern cousin, Neusiedlersee, across the lake.
Blaufränkisch is well suited to and makes up over half of the vineyard area in Mittelburgenland. The region’s hills and plateaus, which are composed of variations in schist, loess and clay-limestone, produce high quality reds with interesting diversity.
Südburgenland, also known for its deep, complex and age-worthy Blaufränkisch, is beginning to turn out some alluring whites from Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc).