JoisephBlaufranksich “Schieferberg” 2021 (750ml)

The Schieferberg is one of Joiseph’s coolest and steepest vineyards (steep for Burgenland let’s say). It’s nearly solid schist and the vines here are 40 plus years old; this is a Blaufränkisch. In any given year they only make about 600 liters or so – that’s less than 70 cases, total. They also tend to release it a bit later, as the wine can be a bit ornery.

Thus we have the 2020. The Schieferberg tends to be both bright and dark; it has a red-fruited energy, yet it is brooding and darker (cacao, dark anise, dried spice). It is certainly more structured, with angular acids and fine-grained but rustic tannins providing a flash of grip and bone.

Honestly, for those of you that know Joiseph’s “basic” Blaufränkisch, the “BFF,” this is for me at least one of the most perfect Austrian Blaufränkisches from Burgenland: generous and plump, saturating, yet light. The Schieferberg has less to do with Blaufränkisch and more to do with the site; it is a bit more raw and animal, deeper, more complex and sinewy. Pair with the Northern Rhone.