Paul Lehner Durrau 2006 Blaufrankisch Reserve (Mittleburgenland)

I picked up this red wine of Austria when I was in Vienna in fall, 2008. As I recall, I had some in a restaurant that was on the outskirts of town and was affiliated with a vineyard that, I believe, surrounded the restaurant. I had scoffed at red wine from Austria (and I'm not all that impressed with the whites I've had either) but tasting this was impressed. So I took a bottle home. It's pretty good. A deep smoky, hazlenut nose with a hint of espresso; silky texture, little tannin and decent acidity. If I didn't know it was Austrian I might think it an inexpensive Italian. It's plenty ripe. I wouldn't pay more than $8 or $10 for it; give it an 86.

After writing this I looked it up in Parker and found quite a different impression and price tag:

Wine Advocate # 181 Feb 2009	David Schildknecht	(92-93)	Drink: N/A	$74 (74)
From some of the heaviest and most iron-rich soils in Horitschon, Lehrner’s 2006 Blaufrankisch Durrau is only now being released, and when I last caught up with it, was not yet bottled. Ripe blackberry, Szechuan pepper, and mint on the nose lead to a liqueur-like richness yet at the same time brightness of fresh fruit on the palate. An infusion of herbs, pepper, and tobacco as well as underlying stony, peaty mineral elements, marrow-like meatiness, and caramelized onions and root vegetables contribute to a thought-provoking level of complexity. Faintly resinous notes of new wood as well as walnut oil and bitter chocolate add to the wealth of flavors in a long, vibrant, palate-staining finish. This should be worth following for more than a decade. I reported in issue 160 on Paul Lehrner’s style (and wry wit), and in issue 177 reported on two outstanding values, his 2006 Blaufrankisch Gfanger and 2006 Claus (a blend of Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch), because they had been bottled early and I could not restrain my enthusiasm. “I’ve never had a wine reach 14% alcohol, and I don’t intend to,” remarks Lehrner – whose wines are decidedly under-rated by his countrymen – but I do not believe any taster will find his 2006s lacking in ripe flavors.

I agree it's complex on nose but seems over-ripe to me on the palate without the balance and nuance of wines that merit 90 points or more. Different strokes for different folks. And it might be that it was damaged in being carried, put on an airplane, transported from NC to DC, etc. And it wasn't stored esp well in the past few months; it was unrefrigerated in the house at 1114 RI Ave NW.

2005 Schwarz Thiele Road Vineyard Grenache (Australia)

I see it's been a month since my last entry. That isn't because I haven't been enjoying wine; au contraire, Francie and I had a great tour of Santa Barbara and Paso Robles (CA) wine country and tasted, then ordered, a whole lot of grenache, syrah, and various blends. I will need to collate my notes and put them on the blog.

Meanwhile, here's an Australian grenache, opened 24 hours ago as I write on 3/27. The unmistakable sweet flowery huckleberry on an ethereal nose, a bit of forest floor and violet, and a touch of maybe leather/cigar box/St. Julien. Some candy cherry. Very silky on the palate, with more strawberry on the taste than nose. Against my standard of the 2004 De Lisio Grenache, my all time favorite Aussie (or any) 100% grenache wine, this one is a bit lighter in body, nose, color and shorter in finish. If De Lisio was 95 points, this one is appropriately 92-93. And I'm impressed at how it's drinking better today than 24 hrs ago. Some stuff from the winery website

Thiele Road Grenache 2007

Bright ruby red coloured wine with vibrant aromas of red cherry and plummy fruits. It's a spicy little beast with red licorice, heady five spice, grilled meats and kirsch with some lifted raspberry and violet top-notes. There is just a hint of gingerbread in there too.

The palate is awash with liquored red cherry and red plum fruit, enveloped in warm spice flavours - five spice, cardamon and ginger - it's earthy and finishes brightly with a ripe tannin structure and good balance and drive.

"Typically light hue, and typically light-bodied, but has more definition to the spicy red fruits, and less outright confection flavour......better than many barossa counterparts. Rating 91, drink 2013."
... James Halliday, (Australian Wine Companion, 2010)

"....Lovely, lovely wine. Just a great wine to quaff. Earthen and raspberried, jammy and spicy. Silken texture. Fresh acid through the finish. Massaged tannin. A warm-hearted 'earth wine' that's crying out for the dinner table. Rating 92, drink 2009 - 2013."
... Campbell Mattinson, November 2009 (www.winefront.com.au)

Winemaker Notes

I used to catch the school bus from the end of Thiele Road. Our family Grenache block is planted along this dusty old track and has been there since my father’s uncle dropped in the cuttings in 1946.

These gnarly old vines now hold up the traditional red gum trellis and the trunks are home to nests of white ants.

The vineyard is spur pruned to reduce vigour and bunch density. Typically small berries and open bunches are this vineyards characters.

Fruit is hand picked and 50% destemmed, 50% crushed to give some carbonic maceration characters.

Soaked for 3 days, yeast is then added and the ferment is allowed to reach 30-32 degrees to increase colour and tannin before reducing the temperature to 18-23 to maintain varietal characters.

Ferment is pumped over gently twice a day and hand plunged so that skins do not desecrate. We undertake and extended maceration on skins for 8- 12 days.

Malo lactic fermentation is then undertaken in old French oak barrels and the wine is purposely unfiltered and racked twice before bottling 20 months later.

Tasting Notes

Bright ruby red.

Vibrant aromas of red cherry and plummy fruits. It’s a spicy little beast with red licorice, heady five spice, grilled meats and kirsch with some lifted raspberry and violet top-notes. There is just a hint of gingerbread in there too.

The palate is awash with liquored red cherry and red plum fruit enveloped in warm spice flavours – five spice, cardamom and ginger – it’s earthy and finishes brightly with a ripe tannin structure and good balance and drive.