Lutzmannsburg Alte Reben 2020

The Lutzmannsburg Old Vines is a Blaufränkisch selection from the oldest and best vineyards. The Lutzmannsburg Plateau was formed on a prehistoric volcano on which different layers were deposited over time. Today one finds sediments of the Pannonian Sea in the form of calcareous sandstone, loam, sand and clay as well as deposits of volcanic origin. For the 2020 Lutzmannsburg Old Vines was selected from six parcels. The vines are between 85 and 110 years old. Around a quarter of the harvest is normally fermented here as whole bunches with raisins. After spontaneous introduction, fermentation usually lasts between three and four weeks in open wooden vats. After careful pressing into 500 and 600 litre barrels, the wine was left to rest on its lees for eleven months, where spontaneous malolactic fermentation took place. The first racking took place after about a year. The Blaufränkisch then matured for a further twelve months in 500-litre barrels. There was no fining, no filtration and only minor additions of sulphites.

Deep garnet with violet reflections

The 2020 vintage of the Lutzmannsburg Old Vines is a new example of the greatness of the terroir and the skill of the interpreter. The wine's immeasurable depth quickly becomes clear on the nose. However, this wine should only be opened years later. If you do it now, you should decant it straight away for a few hours. It then smells of black cherries, elderberries and blueberries, some cloves, peat and undergrowth, leaves and essential herbal extracts as well as some liquorice and violets. The really impressive thing, however, is the deep, cool mineral trace that runs through the fruit and spice.

It becomes even more powerful on the palate, where the Blaufränkisch already reveals much of its density and concentration. The fruit described in the fragrance presents itself here as an essence with a deep spiciness and florality. The Lutzmannsburg manages to appear broad-shouldered and firm and at the same time energetic, dancing, bubbling and vibrating. It is a wine of great stature and structure with a perfect tannic framework and a clarity that is rarely found. A wine outside of time and space, big, deep and never-ending, but at peace with itself and ready to continue growing for decades to come.