2016 Weingut Prieler, Braufränkisch, Ried Goldberg “Schützen am Gebirge” Leithaberg DAC, Austria.
The absolutely gorgeous, almost Bordeaux like and perectly mature dark garnet 2016 Prieler Ried Goldberg “Schüten am Gebrge” Blaufränkisch is wonderfully deep, balanced and aromatic wine with a silken medium/full bodied palate, taking this varietal from Leithaberg, Austria to the next level. Winemaker Georg Prieler, one of my favorite Austrian producers, has done a masterful job here, with this Goldberg cru Blaufränkisch, set on mica-schist with clay loam soils, really hitting on all cylinders and in a peak window showing exceptional depth and transparency. There’s an array of dark berry berry, earthy plum, black currant and cherry fruits, along with fine tannin, a nice cut of subtle acidity, as well as sandalwood, rose petals, minty herbs, truffle like wild mushrooms, chalky stones, black olives and saddle leather accents. Again, It was nice to catch up on Georg’s wines, with his signature Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc bottlings taking center stage, with the 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch and 2021 Leithaberg DAC Pinot Blanc Alte Reben (old vine) being my favorites, along with this dry Rosé and Prieler’s Kalkterrassen Gemischter Satz (co-fermented white blend), which was all new to me. Prieler has many varietals planted here, including Blaufränkisch, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Welschriesling, Sankt Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which all enjoy lots of sunshine and a complex series of calcerous and iron rich soils with sand, limestone over deep chalk, fossilized rock and some mica-schist. While this one might be a little harder to find, it shows that Prieler’s reds have huge potential, so I would grab his 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch ($65), which I also loved, now and put a few bottles away for 5 to 7 years.
The Prieler estate, as mentioned here in my prior reviews, founded in 1972, is based in Schützen, which sits on the western side of the Lake Neusiedl, in Burgenland, it is a historic old farm, that was once dedicated to many types of agriculture, but now specializing almost solely in grape growing. Georg Prieler is a the second generation Prieler to run this iconic winery and the one that has brought world wide acclaim to this property with his fantastic terroir driven Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc wines. Georg’s wife Silvia brings a wealth of experience to the winery with a PhD in biochemistry, international experience including an internship at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy and a precise touch, which explains the class and finesse in the wines. The winery notes that all of the grapes are carefully crushed and fermented at closely controlled temperatures in steel tanks or wooden casks. The character of the variety and the vineyard determines how the wine will be matured and what in. For example, the Primer’s add, the Seeberg Pinot Blanc will aged exclusively in stainless steel to maximize freshness and clarity, while the Blaufränkisch from Johanneshöhe will be raised in large oak casks, and Georg’s top crus like this Goldberg, as seen here, are macerated and fermented in open top fermenters and are matured in small Burgundy barriques, for 26 months in this vintage. Prieler’s 20 hectares of vines are cultivated in small parcels between the Leithagebirge, which according to the winery, is the last outpost of the eastern Alps that protect the vines from the western winds, and the Lake Neusiedl, which tempers the hot climate of the Pannonian plain, where there is the most sunshine in all of Eastern Europe. I highly recommend digging deep into this latest Prieler collection, especially the mentioned wines above, they will certainly impress for their outstanding quality, age-worthy structures and elegance, as proven here.
($125 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive