Anita and Hans Nittnaus 2019 Blauer Zweigelt, Burgenland

Wine Notes: Nittnaus’ spectacular Zweigelt comes from vines planted in the loess of the Parndorf Plain, between the Leitha hills and Lake Neusiedl. Spontaneously fermented, it spends 12 months aging in used 500-liter oak casks from the renowned Stockinger cooperage, and is bottled with minimal sulfites. This delivers plenty of concentration and tension on its modest alcohol frame, with spicy purple fruits and a beam of lifted acidity.

Terroir Notes: The Neusiedlersee appellation in Burgenland is located on the northeastern side of the eponymous lake. Lake Neusiedl is Europe’s largest steppe lake, which straddles the Austria-Hungary border, and the Nittnaus family has resided in the town of Gols, on Neusiedlersee’s eastern edge, since 1684. Zweigelt accounts for 24% of the planted vineyards in Neusiedlersee.