Pittnauer Blaufränkisch Heideboden 2021 (6 Bottles) Burgenland, Austria

$228.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

Black cherry, sour cherry, marzipan, dried herb and game meat. Medium-bodied, sour cherry and orange rind, juniper, brisk acidity and fine chalky tannin, tart blackberry and spice on a juicy and pan-juicy finish of solid length. A distinctly ‘mineral’ feel here, and while it’s a little ‘off road’ in character, it’s a lovely thing to drink.
90 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

Notes from Gerhard Pittnauer, Winemaker

The Heideboden is not precisely defined geographically. Located on the eastern shores of Lake Neusiedl, it includes the plain that stretches from the Seewinkel via Frauenkirchen to the foot of the Parndorfer Platte. Covered by sand, gravel, lime and clay, it offers a geological mosaic in which Zweigelt, Sankt Laurent and Blaufränkisch feel at home.

As with our Zweigelt, we also pursue a double intention with the Pittnauer Blaufränkisch Heideboden. On one hand, we want to capture the origin here as well; to reflect the warmth of the Pannonian climate and the lightness inherent in the sandy soils of the Neusiedlersee. On the other hand, we are concerned with revealing the subtle, precise and finely woven side of the grape variety.

The grapes for the Blaufränkisch Heideboden are picked by hand and fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks. It is matured on the lees in large, used wooden barrels for a good six months.

Herbs and red berry aromas set the tone, with complementary pepper and undergrowth. The body is compact and elegant, the acidity is lively, the tannins have easy grip. This shows that, even in a warm vintage like 2018, you could make fine, light-hearted yet profound wines. Floral aromas complete the sensory impression on the palate.

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About Gerhard Pittnauer

Gerhard Pittnauer is located on the east shore of the Neusiedlersee in Austria’s Burgenland region, which is at the eastern extremity of Austria bordering with Hungary. He’s interested in biodynamics, which he’s now implementing in his vineyards, and he told me that he stopped spraying synthetic chemicals last year. ‘We only use sulphur and copper’, Gerhard emphasizes, ‘and we spray BD500 and BD501’.

These are two of the biodynamic preparations that assist with plant and soil health. ‘We use a quadbike as well as the tractor to spray, because this has less weight’, says Gerhard. ‘We use mechanical tilling, and this year I will try a natural green cover beneath the vines.’ He reports that he’s very pleased with the results of the 2006 vintage, when he didn’t use selected yeasts. ‘The results are wonderful.’

Switching to biodynamics so far seems to have gone well for Pittnauer. ‘It was a big risk to change everything, but now I’m happy and optimistic for the future’. The wines tasted here were impressive, even if three of them weren’t made with the help of biodynamics.

CellarHand

CellarHand is a fine-wine importer and wholesale distributor, with a portfolio featuring some of the most sought-after estates of Germany, Austria, France and Italy, as well some of the greatest producers from Australia and New Zealand. Our ethos has always been to build a portfolio as you’d construct the perfect wine list. We work with small, family producers who express the best of their regions. The wines we sell are the wines we enjoy, and the people who make them are like family to us. They are wines that taste of where they come from, and though they’re steeped in history and stamped with the signature of their terroir, they’re more than ever relevant – and desirable – to the Australian diner of today.