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The latest grape aiming to join the ranks of great wine is blaufrankisch, a varietal that practically no one had heard of until a few years ago. Though its name hardly rolls off the tongue as easily as chardonnay or cabernet, it's beginning to garner fans among adventurous wine lovers and turn up on hip wine lists. But is the world ready for an expensive new red with an unpronounceable name?
I asked myself that question after a day of surprising tastings with six Austrian growers earlier this year.
Sure, I'd tasted previous examples of the country's blaufrankisch, though, in truth, not many. Those were simple juicy quaffers or personality-free, internationally-styled vino, blended with cabernet sauvignon to ape either California or Bordeaux. Frankly, they seemed like afterthoughts to the country's great gruner veltliners, a "Hey, we can do reds, too" kind of statement.
But never underestimate the power of a wine-growing country once winemakers discover the potential of their indigenous varieties.
Austrian blaufrankisch impresses
The first clue I had that things were changing with Austrian blaufrankisch was my taste of Roland Velich's single vineyard Moric offerings, poured at the first World Wine Symposium at Villa d'Este in Italy last fall. They convinced me that the grape had more than potential; it could have elegance, complexity, individuality. Were Velich's wines, made from old vines, flukes? Was I unduly influenced by the lovely surroundings? I put question marks next to my stars, which is another way of saying I began to have an open mind about the grape.
Several months later, at a lunch around a long table at Gramercy Tavern -- the first restaurant in America, claims importer James Wright, to put an Austrian wine on its list -- I faced a dozen superior bottlings. The tasting was organized by David Schildknecht, who covers Austria and many other regions for The Wine Advocate.
The six winemakers, including Velich, wanted to show off the ways they're trying to reveal the true personality of the grape.
A grape that takes to terroir
It helps that blaufrankisch, which is also found in Germany and Hungary (where it's called kekfrankos), shares with pinot noir and nebbiolo an unusual terroir sensitivity, making it a magnet for ambitious winemakers keen to put their vineyards on the wine map.
Now there are about 18 serious producers clustered in Burgenland, the country's warm easternmost wine region bordering Hungary and Slovenia, which, with its long warm summers and historic vineyards, turns out to be blaufränkisch heaven.
"There were social and political reasons why the grape didn't make great wine here in the past," says Velich. Burgenland was a poor region, he explains, and making a great blaufrankisch requires reducing yields, which in turn requires wealth.
Typically, the wines are medium bodied, with spicy cherry-berry aromas and tastes and a spine of bright acidity that makes them exceptionally food-friendly. But a debate reigns over whether blaufränkisch should be more like Bordeaux or Burgundy in style. Austrian blaufrankisch, as Schildknecht pointed out, is a work in progress.
To obtain floral aromas and freshness, Dorli Muhr treads whole clusters of grapes by foot for her Muhr-Van der Niepoort wine from the Spitzerberg vineyard in the Carnuntum area just north of Burgenland. Her delicious 2006 Spitzerberg ($45) is in a lighter style, only 12.3 percent alcohol and one of my favorites.
By contrast, Josef Umathum's 2007 Umathum Kirschgarten, which comes from a steep vineyard above Lake Neusiedl famous since 1524, has a small amount of shriveled grapes added. That gave the barrel sample a deep, rich, intense, fruity character.
I also liked Paul Achs' delicate, spiky, minerally 2007 Altenberg and spicy, fresh 2007 Umgerberg (both about $65 when they arrive), from biodynamic vineyards, which lean toward Burgundy in style. Uwe Schiefer's pungent, chestnutty 1999 and 2007 Reihburg ($70 if you can find it), from 45- to 80-year-old vines surrounded by oak forest, on the other hand, seemed more like Barolo.
"The tricky part," said Roland Velich, "is always getting ripe, fine tannins. You have to pick late." I was impressed all over again by his stunning wines. The rich-textured, earthy, complex 2002 Moric Alte Reben Lutzmannsburg and bright, savory 2002 Moric Alte Reben Neckenmarkt (both about $100) showed how well blaufrankisch can age.
Blaufrankisch bargains
Luckily, a few under $30 bottlings give some sense of blaufrankisch's new wave: intense, savory entry-level 2008 Moric blaufrankisch; light, fresh, juicy 2008 Paul Achs Heideboden; soft, plummy, plushy 2007 Prieler Johanneshohe; and lively 2007 Muhr-Van de Niepoort Carnuntum.
Blaufrankisch fits right into one of today's biggest trends, the fascination with wines made from obscure grapes. But whether blaufrankisch gets any traction in the U.S. will surely depend not just on willingness to try hard to pronounce wines, but also on a continuing evolution of taste. As wine lovers abandon bruisingly high alcohol reds with chewy tannins -- which I hope they do -- this fascinating Austrian middle-weight might just have a chance.
Elin McCoy is wine and spirits columnist for Bloomberg News. Her most recent book, "The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste," won the 2005 World Gourmand Cookbook Award and was a finalist for the James Beard and IACP wine-book-of-the-year awards.
Photo: Glasses of serious blaufrankisch at a Gramercy Tavern tasting. Credit: Elin McCoy.
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I am so happy to see this grape begin to get some of the attention it deserves in this country. I am a Blaufrankisch producer in Michigan. This may seem an unlikely spot but the resulting wine from my vineyard shows an incredibly interesting combination of fruit and spice with a wonderful structural presentation. I only wish I had planted more in my vineyard because I truly believe it has found a home that reflects the inherent qualities of the grape variety while adding a unique expression of our place. I love this variety.
Adam Satchwell
Winemaker
Shady Lane Cellars
Suttons Bay, Michigan