Wine tasting Blaufränkisch Burgenland 2006
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Tasted Saturday, July 26, 2014 by snoerre with 282 views
Introduction
I organized a tasting of Austrian red wine. In particular, I wanted to provide an overview of the most renowned local grape, the Blaufränkisch. It's best producers are in the state of Burgenland, in the east of Austria, next to Hungary. From there they derive the hot climate with dry, warm summers and often wonderful autumns. Still, the nights can get cooler and provide freshness and elegance. The grape can be used for quite a variety of styles, but recently the trend was to go for the more puristic style instead of trying to emulate international wines too much.
Got get a picture of the grape I chose a great vintage, namely 2006. A warm year, using a lot of the water reserves coming from the cooler 2005 and the snowy winter. A perfect autumn provided great grapes for the red wines. We had a variety of producers from different areas of the state. In four flights we started with the basic quality, then did one medium-priced flight and finished with two high end wine flights. 1-3 hours before start I decanted every wine for a short time and put it back into the open bottle. To my surprise, no wine was flawed.
Flight 3 (2 Notes)
Flight 4 (3 Notes)
Closing
Overall the quality level was appreciated by the whole crowd. The basic quality is more or less finished and over the hill. Still drinkable, but not a big pleasure. Krutzler was the best there. The medium class showed great quality and was in perfect drinking condition. Only Oberer Wald was still closed and needs quite some air. The two top flights showed consistent quality. Mariental was the most closed one and has a lot of time ahead. All the top wines showed some similarities yet all had their own character. Achs was more elegant than expected. Sagittarii slightly leaning towards the international style. Krutzler very clear to guess because of color and distinctive style. Hochberc also was clearly a Gesellmann wine and showed more sweet fruits. Still, all were clearly Blaufränkisch from a great year with a similar basic structure and aromas. All of them can rest some years in the cellar, especially in Magnum formats. But with some decanting all provide great pleasure.
A great night which everybody enjoyed.
2006 Heribert Bayer Blaufränkisch In Signo Sagittarii 91 Points
Austria, Burgenland, Mittelburgenland
Magnum. Dark red with a water rim. Red and dark berries in the nose, some spices. Intensive mouthfeel, also fresh (mint), long aftertaste. Shows international modern style, smooth, maybe too smooth. Still wonderful to drink, a real crowd pleaser.
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2006 Ernst Triebaumer Blaufränkisch Ried Mariental 91 Points
Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Dark red. Dense, cherries and plum, some tar. Fruity palate, full bodied. Medium aftertaste.
After decanting one more hour, the wine becomes more elegant and much longer. A great effort, but still very young. I expect at least ten more years of development. Can easily add 2-4 points. If you open it now, plan three hours of decanting.
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