Wonderful weather in Burgenland. The wooden cases for the large formats in front of the gable of the Kollwentz estate.
We didn't see the afternoon sun, because we were occupied with bottling, deep down in the cellar.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
24. October 2011.
We've finished pressing the red wines. And in the process joining the Painter's Union—the bellies of all the Zweigelt barrels have been coloured red.
17. October 2011
Good news from the gourmet guide A la Carte:
Each wine that we submitted found itself rated north of the 90-point border—
2010 Sauvignon Blanc Steinmühle - 91 Points
2009 Chardonnay Tatschler - 92 Points
2009 Chardonnay Gloria - 92 Points
2007 Blaufränkisch Setz - 94 Points
2008 Steinzeiler - 95 Points – the highest rating for an Austrian red wine.
Wein.Pur 's headline reads, Autumn is Time for Red Wine, and they've dedicated a special issue to Blaufränkisch.
The Blaufränkisch 'Setz' got an 'Outstanding' as did the 'Steinzeiler,' although the tasters put forth the opinion that the Steinzeiler was down-graded just a bit, because this bottling always demands time in which to mature before showing its full potential.
Blaufränkisch 'Point' was ennobled with an 'Excellent,' and the authors commented, 'great depth of fruit in play here, plenty of chocolate, bitter orange, lime, herb-garden, elderberry and rosemary. On the palate very fine cherry notes, extremely articulate with noteworthy length, depth and balance. Great potential.
3. October 2011
We're done! We were able to conclude the harvest with some really ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. Now we're back at work in the cellar. The Pinot Noir from Ried Dürr will be drawn en pìece— into 228 litre
Burgundy barrels. This vintage is indeed cause for great rejoicing.
7. October 2011
In the white wine barrels—known as une pìece (228 litres, originally from Burgundy)—the Chardonnays from Tatschler and Gloria are fermenting. By contrast, in the barrique cellar where we elaborate the red wines, there's still this yawning emptiness. But on Monday we'll draw our Zweigelt into the barriques.
25. September 2011
A curious jumble in the cellar—what's going on here?
The two tanks in the middle between the barrels—we call them 'companion tanks'
If you didn't see the corresponding installment of 'What's new?,' here's the explanation:
If a horse spent too much time by itself in the stall, it would quite often develop behavioural problems. But if you were to put another creature in the stall with it—even if it were a goat—these temperamental difficulties did not occur. So the expression arose, 'companion goat.'
Our barrels are filled with must before the onset of fermentation. During fermentation, carbon dioxide is produced, and this would cause the barrels to overflow—for this reason we put a couple little tanks next to them, into which we divert a portion of the must during the most violent phase of the fermentation. Afterwards the must can very gently—that means with least motion and distance involved—be replaced in the barrels. So that's why we call them companion tanks.
23. September 2011
Now it's getting interesting: What shall we pick first? In the cool early morning we harvested the last of the Chardonnay in Leithagebirge. After that we went back once more to the Blaufränkisch, where we picked the last grapes out of 'Setz' on this glorious late-summer day. Now there's only one Blaufränkisch vineyard left to pick—this one is not earmarked for red wine, but rather for Rosé. The hailstorm on the 14th of May damaged this vineyard so extensively that a satisfactory level of ripeness—even in this outstanding vintage—could not be attained. Nevertheless, this site will provide material well-suited for making a fruity Rosé.
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