Prieler Blaufrankisch Goldberg 6/750 2011

Preiler 2012 Baufränkisch, Burgenland, Austria | 13% | From the brown loam strewn with iron rich red pebbles of Neusiedler Lake –Austria’s warmest region comes this Blaufränkisch in all its telltale Burgenland peppery spice and juicy fruit. Between the porosity and permeability the loam of this vineyard holds moisture in ample reserve during any warm stretches. This ensures healthy ripened fruit full of character and free of stress –like those marvelous few we encounter who exude joy for having known so little grief. In the glass this is a scrumptious red every bit as peppered as Zweigelt but with more of a Rhône like hint at meat pan juices –almost like a Grenache driven Châteauneuf-du-Pape but the fruit is all its own –a beguiling blackberry whose firmer forest character is calmed by a ripe black cherry. All these combine on the palate with a gentle woodsy spice, in a focused concentration –more potent than dense. As Blaufränkisch is a less familiar variety to most, I would recommend this to those among us who love the crispy red Pinot Noir of the Côte Challonaise in southern Burgundy, the lighter Mourvèdre/Grenache reds of Southern France, a fairer Cabernet Franc from Saumur in a warmer year, and naturally the Zweigelt of Österreich at large but those are but loose cognates and this Blaufränkisch a marvel all its own.
Wine Review by Nicholas Livingston, August 4, 2015 (Leaf Day)

Food Pairings

Think of the elegant end of Pinot Noir foods; salmon, veal as in Oscar or Blanquette de Veau. Chicken and game birds.