Pittnauer Zweigelt Heideboden (6 Bottles) Burgenland, Austria

by CellarHand

$189.00 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

In viticulture it is sometimes not different than in politics: labour at the grassroots level is crucial. Pittnauer Zweigelt Heideboden might not have the same charisma as the St. Laurent Rosenberg – yet, for getting a crisp, inviting, wholesome and distinct wine into the bottle, attention and diligence are required. The wine-growers who cultivate the vines at the Heideboden are working according to the regulations of organic viticulture; they harvest manually and yield perfectly ripe and healthy grapes.
The intention behind the Zweigelt Heideboden is twofold: on the one hand we want to capture the terroir, the warmth of the Pannonian climate and the sandy soils of Lake Neusiedl which tend to give the wine an unmistakable lightness; on the other hand, we try to unfold the subtle, precise and delicate side of the grape variety.
The grapes were harvested by hand and fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks. Afterwards the wine was aged on the lees in used barrels for half a year.
A child of its vintage. Warm and sumptuous with ripe, red fruit flavours and a subtle spiciness. Flows long, calm and deep through the mouth. Balanced and smooth, never demanding but neither simple. Finely-grained tannins and a restrained acidity lead the way to the palate and give the wine a soft structure. Fruity finish.

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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.

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