Burgenland Wine

Critic Notes

James Suckling 93 Points |  Perfumed aromas of dried roses, red berry fruit and licorice pull you in. Darker mocha notes, too. Medium-bodied yet deep, with dark minerals and spices accompanying the fresh berry fruit. Fine and tight tannins. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Drink or hold.

Winemaker Notes

The Blaufränkisch grapes come from vineyards characterised by limestone and slate in and around Jois am Leithagebirge. The grapes were harvested from mid to late September. After manual harvesting and sorting, the Blaufränkisch was fermented spontaneously in wooden fermentation racks and, after slow pressing in a basket press, aged in used Tonneaux.

On the palate, the wine appears juicy with lots of fresh cherry and pomegranate juice, with plums and lightly roasted herbs. At the same time, this is a Blaufränkisch with a mineral fresh and cool side, a lively acidity and a remarkable inner tension. Here, too, you find the slightly earthy and tart with a fine tannin. This is intense, transparent, clear and fresh wine that quickly builds up drinkability. 

Critic Notes

James Suckling writes:  What a joyful dry white for Burgenland! A wide spectrum of ripe yellow fruit with mango and papaya, but nothing loud. Generous and juicy, but with extremely invigorating acidity. A cuvee based on gruner veltliner with furmint, welchriesling, chardonnay and pinot blanc, plus some mixed planted. From vines ranging ranging from 20 to 40 years of age. Drink or hold.  James Suckling 93

Winemaker Notes

The typical grape varieties of the region, Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner and Furmint, work together to create a tightly knit, very precise, complex wine with mouth-filling, ripe pear fruit as well as beautiful almond, spice and herbal notes.

Powerful, creamy, dry and sensual, it is wonderfully complex and opens up countless exciting combination possibilities as a sophisticated food accompaniment. 

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. 

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

The house brand red is a blend of Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and Pinot Noir, which is matured in large used wooden barrels. The Zweigelt brings fruit and charm, the Pinot Noir juiciness and the Blaufränkisch character and structure.

The Blaufränkisch also dominates the nose with dark aromas, ripe black cherries and plums, some eucalyptus and a slight smokiness of bacon. On the palate it starts fresh and animating, a fine and mellow tannin spreads directly on the tongue, again cherry and fine tannins.

The house brand stands for fresh drinking fun and goes well with stews and autumnal cuisine, for example with pumpkin.

Expert Reviews

James Suckling writes:  A spicy red with plenty of blue and red fruit, plus a touch of bell pepper. Generous and lively palate, with a very unusual interplay of youthful and slightly developed aromas and slightly sappy tannins, but they add freshness to this dada wine! This is a solera-type cuvee based on the 2020 vintage, with wines going back to 2012. A crazy blend of pinot noir, merlot and zweigelt. Drink now.  - James Suckling 92

Jancis Robinson writes:  Crimson. Pale rim. Good freshness and zest and absolutely ready to drink. Nice graininess. A wine with a story. Dry end but very distinctive.  50% Zweigelt, 20–25% Blaufränkisch, 20–25% Merlot and the remainder Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Made using a solera-type system containing multiple vintages going back to 2012. The wine spends three weeks on the skins before moving to barrel.   Drinking 2023 - 2027  - Jancis Robinson 16

Critic Notes

Stephan Reinhardt writes:  Aged for a year in large oak foudres and for another year in the bottle, the 2020 Zweigelt offers a pure, clear, fine, aromatic, tart and slightly floral as well as flinty bouquet of dark and concentrated cherries and hollyhock. Medium-bodied, round and juicy on the palate, this is a very elegant and aromatic, polished and energetic red with fine tannins and refreshing mineral acidity with fine salinity on the finish.  Glass stopper. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.  Drinking 2020 to 2030.  - Robert Parker Wine Advocate 90

Winemaker Notes

Pepi Umathum is one of Austria's best known producers. In the Burgenland growing district called Neusiedlersee (Lake Neusiedl), he counts as one of the great champions of the traditional Austrian grape varieties. His main holdings are Rotburger (Zweigelt), St Laurent and Blaufrankisch with a bit of Welschriesling, Roter Traminer, the extremely rare Gelber Traminer, and the unusual ancient Lindenblattriger (Harslevelu in Hungary). Pepi has embraced the intricacies and harmonies of biodynamic viticulture, and for most of his wines, which are all hand-harvested, he prefers to use large barrels of native Austrian oak, which underscores the clear fruit aromatics of the wines. Some of the high-toned single vineyard bottlings are matured in smaller oak barrels and barriques, and are first released three years after the vintage. Winemaker Description. 

The classic Blaufränkisch from Zantho shows a fine fruit reminiscent of blackberries with a hint of cinnamon. Juicy berries on the palate are supported by a very harmonious acid and tannin structure. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Meinklang Burgenland Red 2022 is an exuberant and vivacious red wine. As one brings the glass closer to the nose, a bouquet of ripe red fruits unfurls, featuring cherries and raspberries, complemented by a subtle spicy note that beckons the first taste.

On the palate, its youthfulness is manifested in an unexpectedly zesty freshness, with fruit flavors that evoke a stroll through an orchard in the height of summer. Its velvety texture and pleasing finish ensure that each sip is thoroughly enjoyable. 

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. Producer Description.

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. 

Winemaker Description

90 Points Wine Advocate | The 2021 Sankt Laurent Burgenland blends the fruit of 14- to 34-year-old vines cultivated in Sankt Margarethen, Zagersdorf, Oslip and Donnerskirchen. Aged in large, used barrels for 10 months, this release displays a bright cherry color and a pure, fresh and reductive nose of cherries, red berries, black pudding, earth and grass. Silky and fresh on the palate, this is a charmingly fruity, light to medium-bodied red wine with remarkable finesse, juiciness and fruit intensity. If at all, this autochthonous red is reminiscent of a refreshing Gamay from the Loire Valley. A great drinking pleasure indeed. 11.5% stated alcohol. Diam cork. Tasted in April 2023.

Lichtenberger González Muschelkalk Weiss is an organic white wine made with the Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc and Welschriesling varieties in Leithaberg (Burgenland) by the Austrian winery Lichtenberger González.

Wines made on this small estate in the town of Breitenbrunn (between Lake Neusiedl and the Leitha mountains) are the result of a collaboration between two pioneering organic winemakers. On the one hand, Austrian Martin Burgenlander brings knowledge of his land and, on the other, Spaniard Adriana González brings her passion for wine. This results in a limited production of organic wines that follow the course of nature.

The Lichtenberger González Muschelkalk Weiss vineyards are planted in limestone and slate soils, and stand out for being well aligned and well ventilated. In addition, they do not use any chemicals that could destabilise the strain’s natural balance. Once the grape reaches optimum ripeness, it is harvested by hand.

When the Lichtenberger González Muschelkalk Weiss grape reaches the winery, it ferments spontaneously on lees in used barrels with little movement.

Lichtenberger González Muschelkalk Weiss is a white wine that represents the great produce from the banks of Lake Neusiedlersee, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Winemaker Description.