Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Friday, March 4, 2022 - 100% organically farmed Blaufränkisch from six old (80 to 110 yo) parcels in the village of Lutzmannsburg. The parcels are fermented spontaneously in oak fermentors, all separately, macerated with the skins for approximately three weeks. Aged in predominantly old 500-liter demi-muids for 8 months, then the best barrels are blended together and aged in exclusively old oak barrels for another 12 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 14% alcohol.

Very deep, dense and fully opaque blackish-red color with youthful purplish highlights. The nose feels concentrated and juicy with vibrant aromas of bilberries, some inky tones, a little bit of crunchy redcurrant, light sappy notes of herbal spice, a hint of gamey meat and a sweet touch of lifted volatile character. The wine feels ripe, rich and concentrated on the palate with a full body and bold flavors of bilberries and sweet dark plums, some sunny notes of succulent dark berries, a little bit of meaty umami, light lifted notes of VA, an extracted hint of tannic bitterness and a touch of savory wood spice. The overall feel is quite extracted, muscular and structured, thanks to the rather high acidity and assertive, rather grippy tannins. The high alcohol lends a little bit of warmth to the palate. The lengthy finish is rich, ripe and juicy with somewhat extracted flavors of sweet dark fruits, some ferrous notes of blood, a little bit of fresh red plum, light tart notes of lingonberry, a savory hint of meaty umami and an earthy touch of old wood spice. The wine ends on a slightly warm note.

A big powerhouse of a Blaufränkisch. Tasting this alongside equally concentrated vintage 2013 of Lutzmannsburg, this 2015 seemed pretty similar in terms of body and weight, but the overall feel was sweeter-toned and just generally more "solar" with more emphasis on ripe dark fruit tones, less about vibrancy and non-fruit nuances. The tannins seemed a bit more extracted and grippy here, whereas the acidity felt slightly less pronounced. It's quite interesting how very similar the 2013 and 2015 vintages were, yet the 2013 was simply amazing - probably the best Blaufränkisch I've tasted - and this 2015 was "just" a very good wine with lots of depth, intensity and structure, but lacking that je-ne-sais-quoi that made the 2013 vintage so exceptional. Nevertheless, this is a world-class Blaufränkisch by all accounts and most likely it will continue to improve for years more in a cellar.

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