Full teaching and tasting day – After lecturing Wine Business International at the Weinakademie Austria in Rust, the Renommierte Weingüter Burgenland invited us to a fascinating tasting. Some of my favourites:
My award for the best mature wines went to Pepi Umathum. His 2006 Zweigelt „Ried Hallebühl“ showed impressively how beautiful Zweigelt can mature. Dark cherries with savoury, earthy notes, smoke and spice on the nose and palate, ripe and smooth tannins on the palate in combination with a fresh acid grip. His 2004 Blaufränkisch „Kirschgarten“ was even more structured with savoury tertiary aromas around a precise dark fruit dominated care. Just beautifully. Friends of spice might have favoured the 2007 St. Laurent „Vom Stein“.
Very well-matured also Triebaumer´s Ried Mariental 2010. Multilayered dark fruit brilliantly framed by an elegant acid structure and fine-grained smoothened tannins.
Other fantastic reds were: Krutzler´s „Perwolff“ 2018 with its concentrated but not overpowering black fruit, liquorice, cloves, violets and top-notch fine-grained tannins. Paul Achs „Ungerberg“ 2018 and „Altenberg“ 2017, which both reflected their specific terroir. Gesellmann´s „Hochberc“ 2016 which was only topped by a fabulous „G“ made from 95% Blaufränkisch and 5% St. Laurent. The grapes come from 80 years old vines—dark prunes, cherries, tobacco, cloves, very complex and long.
Andi Kollwentz also had fantastic wines on his presentation table. My favourite was Blaufränkisch „Ried Point“ 2016, followed by his Steinzeiler 2016 (Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Cab Sauv.). From the white side of life, his Chardonnay „Gloria“ 2018 impressed once again. Grown on limestone the wine shows an unbelievable density and elegance with a long salty finish.
Other great whites: Pepi Umathum´s fresh and lean „Lindenblättriger“ 2017 and Krutzler´s Gemischter Satz „Alte Reben“ 2018. Elegant, with a beautifully textural grip on the palate.
And let but not least, Kurt Feiler‘s and Triebaumer’s Ausbruch Weine completed my day.
