Moric Lutzmannsburg Alte Reben 2021

Type: Red
Country: Austria
Region: Burgenland
Grape Variety: 100% Blaufrankisch
Rating: 99 James Suckling Points

Climate: Hot, continental Pannonian climate
Terroir: 85 to 110 years old vines planted on calcareous sandstone, loam, sand and clay soil
Winemaking: Around 20 % of the harvest was fermented as whole clusters with rape. After spontaneous introduction, fermentation lasted 23 to 28 days in open wooden vats. After very careful pressing into 500- and 600-litre barrels, the wine was left on full lees for eleven months, where spontaneous malolactic fermentation took place. The first drawing-off took place after about one year. After that, the Blaufränkisch matured for another twelve months in 500-litre barrels. It was bottled at the end of September 2019

Color: Deep red between ruby and garnet with violet reflections
Nose: Aroma of herbs, elderberries, black cherries and mulberries in combination with a little tar, peat and wood
Palate: Fine red cherries, red berries, a touch of liquorice, delicate tobacco and mineral notes in the background with a hint of bergamot. Complex, juicy, red berry fruit, taut tannins, finessed, richly structured, balanced, mineral, salty finish, exceptional length which is subtle and nuanced, very good ageing potential

About the Winery:
Roland Velich is the passionate winemaker behind an Austrian red touted to rival Grand Cru Burgundy. While Austria is better known for its whites, Roland had a fascination with the unusual red grape, Blaufränkisch. So he left his family’s estate and set up Weingut Moric (pronounced Moritz) in the lesser-known Mittelburgenland, which is close to the Hungarian Border around an hour’s drive from Vienna. Such was his determination, he paid for the estate using money that he’d saved working in a casino as a croupier. Roland now seeks out high-yielding, old-vine vineyards, and vinifies the grapes as simply as possible, looking to bring out Blaufränkisch’s inherently pure, elegant character.

As a self-professed Burgundy fan, his reds echo the finesse of Grand Cru Pinot Noir, and, rather than try to over-extract fruit flavours like some of his predecessors, Roland’s wines have a cool climate quality more commonly found in fine Nebbiolo or Northern Rhône Syrah. His top wine is a blend of eight different vineyard sites and includes some of the oldest vines that surround the village of Lutzmannsburg. These are unique reds which brilliantly echo their terroir.