About this WINE
Weingut Moric
While the Velich family have stuck faithfully to the traditional Austrian line of making white wines, Roland broke away in the ‘90s to create his own enterprise making reds from the Blaufränkisch variety.
The project was called ‘Blaufränkisch Unplugged’. Under the ‘Moric’ label, Roland released his first wine with the 2001 vintage, albeit only a couple of thousand bottles. The fruit is drawn from the relatively unknown (Mittel) Burgenland region, an hour’s drive due south-east of Vienna on the Hungarian border.
In fact this ancient Pannonian region only became part of Austria in 1921, hence why the Hungarian influence remains strong; the grape is called Kekfrankos across the border. Roland sets out to make tiny quantities of ‘terroir’ wines, allowing the grape to express the rich minerality of the mica slate, clay and limestone hills overlooking the Nieusiedlersee Lake; notably around the communes of Neckenmarkt and Lutzmannsburg.
He does this through ruthless fruit selection from high density old vineyards, minimal intervention during vinification, and elevage in large oak…delivering a wine the combines the pleasure of Piemontese Nebbiolo and Burgundian Pinot Noir.
Blaufränkisch
The Blaufränkisch grape thrives on the clay and fossil rich soils of Burgenland in Austria. It reminds slightly of the Nebbiolos of Piedmont, with their grace and guile, and it is indeed a great alternative to Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, or Syrah.
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Description
A selection of old vines from the best sites in Neckenmarkt. This is very spicy with cool fruit characters and an amazing breadth of aromatics. I love the crunchy dark fruit and brooding deep berry tones. This reassuringly has the excellent acidity and strong tannins, two signatures of the Blaufrankisch grape. The Neckenmarkt is sourced from nine parcels split across 75% slate, 20% limestone and 5% loam soils. The grapes are harvested separately, then fermented in 500-litre casks. After this, an initial blend is made from the individual lots, which then enjoys a further twelve months in 500-litre oak.
Laura Godwin - Private Account Manager
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