Anita and Hans Nittnaus - Blaufränkisch “Kalk & Schiefer” 2019 (750ml)
Price: $32.99
| Producer | Anita and Hans Nittnaus |
| Country | Austria |
| Region | Burgenland |
| Varietal | Blaufränkisch |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Sku | 62710 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Anita and Hans Nittnaus Description
Burgenland is Austria’s easternmost wine region, situated south of Niederösterreich and north of Steiermark, and bordering Hungary along its entire eastern flank. Its 28% share of Austria’s vineyard area produces the country’s best and most respected red wines, from vineyards whose proximity to Hungary’s warm Pannonian plains ensures proper ripening for the indigenous Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt. The northern sector of Burgenland is dominated by Lake Neusiedl (or Neusiedlersee), 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.
The Nittnaus estate today encompasses 44 hectares spread among two distinct subregions of northern Burgenland. To the east of Lake Neusiedl, in the Neusiedlersee appellation, soils are of sandy clay with varying levels of flint; this is the site of the family’s historic holdings, as well as the winery itself. More recently, Hans and Anita have acquired vineyards in the Leitha hills, to the west of the lake, whose poorer soils of limestone and slate render Blaufränkisch of striking energy and minerality. They work according to strict biodynamic principles, and are certified as such by the small, rigorous, and less-mainstream “respect-BIODYN” organization.
“Kalk & Schiefer” (“limestone and slate”) comes from Blaufränkisch grown on the slopes of the Leitha hills near the village of Jois. Like the Zweigelt above, this is aged one year in used 500-liter Stockinger barrels and is bottled with just a splash of sulfur—less than 15 milligrams per liter. Cleansing, cool-toned minerality counterbalances warmly spicy fruit here, united under a spire of glowing acidity. This, too, typically hovers around 12.5% alcohol, exemplifying the variety’s ability to be both richly juicy and light in spirit.
