Weingut Moric Lutzmannsburg Alte Reben 2016

Grape: Blaufränkisch
Vintage: 2016
Type: Red

Sourced from historic, pre-phylloxera and century-old parcels on the volcanic plateau of Lutzmannsburg in Mittelburgenland, this flagship cuvée is crafted by low-intervention pioneer Roland Velich. Rooted in deep sedimentary clay, limestone, and volcanic tuff soils, the ancient vines yield tiny quantities of intensely concentrated fruit. The hand-harvested grapes ferment naturally with indigenous yeasts in large open-top wooden vats using long, gentle skin macerations. The wine ages for over 20 months in neutral 500-liter French oak casks to refine its firm tannic frame without adding wood flavor. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, this is a legendary, age-worthy Austrian red that presents blaufränkisch with the elegance, structural longevity, and vertical poise of grand cru Burgundy.

A translucent garnet color with tawny brick edges leads into a deeply complex nose of dried tart cherry, sour plum, forest floor, damp tobacco, and crushed iron. The palate is dry, focused, and savory, unfolding layered flavors of blood orange, dried cranberry, dark spice, leather, and smoked herbs. Fine-grained, fully integrated tannins and a piercing beam of natural acidity give the mid-palate incredible structural drive and precision despite its cellared maturity. It concludes on an extraordinarily long, dry finish marked by lingering notes of crushed slate, citrus peel, and wild thyme.