Tasting note
- Colour & Appearance
- Dense violet-red, almost black at the core, with a narrow, youthful rim – a wine that gives little visual indication of its eight years of bottle ageing.
- Nose
- Compact and spicy, still closed despite its advanced maturity. Sloe, elderberry and blackberry meet green pepper, grilled rosemary, juniper and liquorice. Beneath lie dark chocolate, coffee and dark tobacco, while above hovers a smoky minerality that lends the wine remarkable depth.
- Palate
- A wine that demands time and rewards patience. The dark fruit from the nose combines with a pronounced tannin structure and intense minerality. Distinct salty notes stimulate the appetite. Those wishing to drink it now should decant it for at least two hours – or better still, wait a few more years.
- Finish
- Long and powerful, with a lingering finish that makes one thing clear: the cellaring potential of this long-distance runner is far from exhausted.
- Terroir & Origin
- The Nittnaus family has cultivated vineyards on the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl since 1684. One half of the 25 hectares lies around Gols on warm Heideboden, the other in the cooler Leithaberg region near Jois. This combination of limestone and schist soils particularly shapes the Blaufränkisch, endowing it with minerality and elegance.
- Grape Variety & Vinification
- Comondor was born in 1990 from the realisation that Blaufränkisch from Ungerberg and international varieties make a perfect pairing. Since 1998, the elegant, full-bodied Merlot has replaced Cabernet Sauvignon as the principal variety. The cuvée matures for 18 to 22 months in 500-litre casks – enough wood for structure, never too much for the fruit.
- Food Pairings
- Rich dishes with concentrated sauces are called for: hare with dark chocolate sauce and truffled celeriac croquettes, wild boar leg with red cabbage and nut strudel, or, for a vegetarian option, grilled green pepper with polenta wedges and rosemary butter.
- Special Features
- The name carries history: Comondor refers to a historic Hungarian shepherd dog breed – entirely Pannonian, entirely Nittnaus. The estate has been biodynamic since 2007; Hans Nittnaus sums up his philosophy thus: “We do not make the wine, we accompany it.”
