Burgenland Wine

Expert Review - Vintage 2022

James Suckling 91 Points | Brimming with red-cherry fruit and joyful freshness. Wonderful interplay of extremely fresh fruit, fine tannins and lively acidity on the barely medium-bodied palate. Excellent balance at the delicate and animating, long finish. Amazing for just 11% alcohol! From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

Winemaker Description

In the hands of Hannes Schuster, Sankt Laurent becomes a focused expression of the soils in and around St Margarethen. Sankt Laurent is thought to be related to Pinot Noir, a crossing of the noble grape and another variety of unknown origin, native to Burgenland. The Schuster always shows earthy yet fresh mineral-rich notes of cherry and red berries which explode on the palate.

Silky tannins, delicate spice and a lovely long finish are signature characteristics. As all the Schuster wines, it is organically farmed with meticulous work in the ideally situated vineyards. This Sankt Laurent was fermented with native yeasts and spent one year in used 500 Liter Stockinger barrels. Winemaker Description. 

Producer Description 

This easy sipping white blend shows off each of its grapes. Full of green apple notes, a touch of stone fruit, a beautiful floral touch, and a hint of peppery finish, this wine is a delight. All stainless steel fermented for a bright, crisp Austrian gem. 

Winemaker Description 

It is not known for certain how long Gelber Muskateller has been in the Rust vineyards. We do know that this grape variety used to be called Weirer. This name comes from Weihrauch (frankincense) because the nutmeg scent is so prevalent. Winemaker Description. 

Green apple, papaya, pineapple, white flowers, peppermint and flint dominate this rich, extracted and exotic delight from Heidi Schröck.

Winemaker Description

Roter Multschak from Meinklang is an exciting red wine. Made from two Austrian indigenous grape varieties, it surprises you with its fun character. On the palate is fruity, tiny bit fizzy with cherry and pomegranate flavours.

The low amount of tannins allows you to drink it chilled.

Winemaker Description 

An innovative and exciting orange wine produced by Kolfok, a winery dedicated to pushing the boundaries of winemaking. This unique orange wine showcases the distinctive character of the grapes and the winery's commitment to experimentation and creativity.

A blend of Gruner Veltliner, Welschriesling, and Chardonnay. A pale, aromatic skin contact wine. Bone dry, smooth and mineral, with notes of apple, grapefruit, yeast, melon, and white flowers.

Stefan Wellanschitz, the winemaker at Kolfolk, likes the physical qualities of skin-fermented wines, or "orange" wines on the palate, but he wanted a way to make one that was also elegant, not just tannic and out-there. Enter intracellular fermentation: intact, uncrushed grapes rested in a large fermentation vessel where native yeasts slowly started the fermentation process inside of the berries, leading to a gentler extraction from the skins.

After some weeks, the grapes were pressed off to finish fermentation in 1100 and 1500L (i.e. really big) used oak barrels. A unique winemaking approach that results in a tropical-but-elegant white wine, full of structure, pale in color, with notes like a fistful of flowers. 

Winemaker Description 

This Pet Nat from Straka is 100% Welschriesling fermented naturally in the ancestral method. The second fermentation occurs naturally inside the bottle creating trapped CO2. Bubbles!

At a low 12% alcohol this mineral yet fruit driven expression of the main white grape of Burgenland is eminently thirst quenching. As with all the Straka wines, the farming is organic, the intervention in the cellar minimal with no additions.

The 84 year old family estate is located in the Eisenberg district of Burgenland. The Eisenberg is a unique geological area where the foothills of the Alps meet the Pannonian lowlands and is comprised of metamorphic, magmatic rock and cristal schist.

One of only 3 places in the world with this soil composition. The deep rooted vines naturally show a distinct mineral character and a compelling purity of fruit.

Combined with the attention to farming and careful hand harvesting the Straka wines are a true find. 

Winemaker Description 

Straka's Mash skin-fermented white is a blend of Straka's specialty, Welschriesling, with a bit of Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay. It spends 20 days on the skins followed by 10 months in large, neutral oak. The result is a wine that is both aromatic and tertiary, lending intriguing savory notes making it a perfect accompaniment to food.

Straka, which means Magpie, is a small family estate located in the Eisenberg district of Burgenland, Austria. It has been run by Tom Straka since 2008. Tom farms organically and practices minimal intervention in the cellar. Located on the last foothill of the Alps, in Rechnitz, his primary focus is Welschriesling, the main indigenous grape of the area. His best vineyard site is Pratner (he farms all but 4 rows of it) which is very densely planted old vines dating from 1932.

Since taking over the family winery, Tom has slowly expanded their vineyard holdings from 3-7 hectares and converted to organic farming. The estate was established by his family in the 18th century when they moved to the area from Bohemia. In the 1950s they were the first family in the area to start a Heuriger or Buschenschank (wine tavern) so that people could come and eat while sampling their wines. It proved a very successful model for them and today, their Buschenschank remains a staple of the area while most others have closed. It remains a great way for many people to try their wines.

Tom is huge advocate of Welschriesling which he says can pair with anything if grown properly. Welschriesling is an old indigenous grape perfectly suited to the geography of this rare geological area. Rechnitz sits 360 m above sea level on the slopes of the Geschriebenstein, the highest mountain in the Burgenland. The vineyards climb as high as 500m and are known for their unique geological soils -- a combination of crystalline schist and magmatic deposits that can only be found in 3 other places in the world. It is a very windy and dry area which cools off considerably at night. This results in very few pests, no need for herbicide or any other treatments and crisp clear mineral-driven wines. The parentage of Welschriesling is not known (it is not related to Rhine Riesling) and is thought to be a most closely related to Elbling, originating in Northern Italy and Croatia along the Danube and typically shows good acidity and fruit with notes of lemon, salt and green apple.

For one and a half decades Thomas Straka has been working with organic waste and cattle manure, but very little compost. "I apply some phosphor from time to time as fertilizer, and also a little chalk, because without it the vines would suffer malnutrition. But all in all I don't have to interfere much in the vineyards." Green cover like vetch between the rows contribute nitrogen to the soil. He lets them grow rather high. "Because we do little work with tractors and most by hand, our soils are nearly uncompressed and rich in humus. And as our soils are meagre and constantly wind-blown, we have almost no problems with fungal diseases." The biggest threat in Rechnitz is and always has been drought. "Today the only things I do in the cellar are a clarification with bentonite and addition of neutral yeasts if necessary."