Wenzel Blaufrankisch Aus dem Kalk 2022
Wenzel Blaufrankisch Aus dem Kalk 2022 – alternate view 2
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Wenzel Blaufrankisch Aus dem Kalk 2022

Wenzel
$29.00

Grape: Blaufränkisch
Vintage: 2022
Type: Red

This red wine is an elegant expression of blaufränkisch sourced from three limestone-rich vineyards near the town of Rust. Michael Wenzel coaxes structural layers by incorporating twenty percent whole-cluster fermentation and twenty percent carbonic maceration with native yeasts. The fruit grows on weathered limestone interspersed with loam, which naturally locks in a high-toned aromatic profile. The wine matures for eighteen months inside large seasoned Austrian oak casks before an unfiltered bottling.

It pours a clear ruby hue, releasing fragrant aromatics of fresh red cherry, wild strawberry, and forest floor. On the palate, a light-to-medium body is remarkably fluid, balancing a crunchy fruit core with fine-grained tannins. Savory underscores of white pepper and mountain herbs add depth across the fluid core without feeling heavy. A clean thread of limestone acidity cuts through the volume, maintaining great freshness. It concludes bone-dry, leaving a light mineral trail.

Wenzel is Michael Wenzel's family estate in Rust, on the western shore of Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, where the family has been making wine for centuries. The domaine is especially important for its role in reviving Furmint in Austria: Michael's father Robert brought historic plant material back from Hungary in the 1980s, when the variety had nearly disappeared from Rust. Today Wenzel farms organically and works with Furmint, Blaufrankisch, Pinot Noir and other varieties in limestone, gneiss and quartz-influenced sites. The wines are spontaneous, minimally handled and quietly radical, linking Burgenland's present to a nearly lost Danube tradition.