Pittnauer Blaufrankisch Heideboden 2014

Meet my friend, Blaufränkisch. You don't think you know each other? Oh, I'm sure your paths will have crossed before now. Maybe in Hungary, where it's known as Kékfrankos and is a major constituent of Bull's Blood. Or maybe in a bottle of Zweigelt - he's one of the parents! Or maybe you met that time in Croatia, where the waiter recommended a bottle of Frankova.

Yeah, my friend gets around. There you go, see, you met him in Austria a few years ago, when you had that bottle of light red wine that just came alive in your mouth, full of berries and cherries and even a touch of orange! Maybe he kind of sits quietly at the back, but everybody knows Blaufränkisch!

Gerhard Pittnauer started working in his family's 3.8 ha vineyard in Gols, Burgenland, when he left school at 16, in 1981. He started running the estate at 27, along with his wife Brigitte, some years after the death of his father, and in 1998 they joined Pannobile, a noted group of Austrian winemakers. An impressive winery was designed and built in the middle of the grounds in 2001, and both quality and quantity took a major leap forward. In 2006 the Pittnauers began the conversion to biodynamic viticulture, their first certified vintage arriving in 2009. Today, Weingut Gerhard and Brigitte Pittnauer is a rising star in the Austrian wine firmament, Gerhard receiving the prestigious Winemaker of the Year award from Falstaff magazine.

The Pittnauers farm their estate in accordance with biodynamic principles, while fruit bought in from outside the estate will come variously from biodynamic, organic or conventional vineyards. They have a spontaneous and flexible approach to winemaking, seeking to make honest wines reflecting the quality of the fruit, rather than aiming for a standardised perfection from one year to the next. There isn't a laboratory in their winery, decisions being made on tasting rather than analysis. No selected yeasts are used, no enzymes or bacteria added, and the wines are neither chaptalised nor fined.

Blaufränkisch is a traditional Austrian grape which is at its best in the Burgenland region. For Pittnauer's Heideboden expression of 2014, grapes are picked and selected by hand and fermented in stainless steel, with remontage. Maceration lasts 18 days, and malolactic conversion occurs in the tank, prior to nine months ageing in used barriques. Pittnauer's Heideboden expression of 2014 has aromas of red berries and oranges, with a vibrant and somewhat spicy palate.