Pittnauer Pannobile 2013

Pannobile is an association of nine Austrian winemakers, devoted to producing wines that truly speak of the soil, character and climate of their region, exquisite wines made entirely from local grape varieties. The "Pannobile" wine that each winery produces every year is its finest cuvée, entirely approachable in its youth but developing a great raft of flavours with age. Pittnauer Pannobile is a perfectly striking wine, already offering a density of aromas and flavours, ripe plums, juniper, orange peel and licorice. How it will develop in years to come we can only imagine!

The Pittnauers have gained the reputation to be slightly different and stand out from the crowd. There is a simple and honest feeling in the wine and spirit of the Gerhard Pittnauer which hails from his generosity and humility. Given the rein of his vineyard in the mid 1980's after the unexpected death of his father, Gerhard at 18, had to train himself to make wine in the Austrian wine market with chaos and scandal going on around him. He chose to become a student of the wine world and allowed himself to experiment with some missteps until he found his thesis. He preferred to 'grow' wine rather than 'make' it in the cellar. He did so without any viticultural doctrine until he found that there was a consistent, common thread in the wines he loved to drink from France and elsehwere. If, he thought, these wines were amazing because of biodynamics, then he must do the same to achieve the pinaccle in his own wine. So he tends 15 hectares, half of which he owns and half of which he rents, alongside his wife Brigitte to create what they call living wines. All of their work is done manually from composing to pruning. There is no calendar that drives them. Nothing is rushed: they believe in quality over speed. They taste for perfect ripeness, select the cleanest grapes and begin the wine in the cellar in response to the conditions of the vintage. They do incorporate some modern technology: a pneumatic press, temperature controlled steel tanks and pumps all to ensure the purity and freshness of the fruit remains. They are making wines that excite them with their unique voice of the varietal and the deep limestone soils of the terroir speaking clearly. Gerhard and Brigitte are aware of the evolution of their tastes as well as the vineyards. They are students presenting the current findings. Not with proud declaration but with excited experimental energy to get the best of what they have.