ALKO : Pinot Noir Fuchsenfeld 2010 by Pittnauer (Austria, Burgenland)

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Producteur : Gerhard und Birgitte Pittnauer

Vin : Pinot Noir Fuchsenfeld

Millésime : 2010

Cépages : Pinot Noir

Origine : Autriche, Burgenland

Prix : 20-30€ (Finlande, Alko) –  moins de 15€ au domaine.

Disponibilité :  acheté chez Alko, en 01/14 référence 452237. Disponible au domaine et cavistes.

Pittnauer is one of the good producer of northern Burgenland. It is one of the 9 winemaker based in Gols that produce the locally famous PANNOBILE, a high quality red blend of Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and Sankt Laurent developed to promote the wines of the region. They have also developed a white version. You can find more information over here.

Pittnauer’s style is rather on the modern side (in a positive way), with nice deep extraction, soft tannins and a clever use of oak. No use of modern artefact, though, for this Biodynamic estate. No surprises about the Pinot Noir Fuchsenfeld: it is a well made, juicy and powerful Pinot! At this point I will tell you a bit about the region and the vintage. Burgenland is a very warm place in summer. The climate is close to a Mediterranean one because of the influence of the Danube. The autumn is also pretty warm but often humid in the morning, thanks to the Neusiedlersee. It is wonderful for botrytis and thus explain the long tradition of Ausbruch (in Rust) or TBA. This being considered, it is a very big challenge to produce quality Pinot Noir. This grape doesn’t like warmth at all and it is very prone to every kind of disease, especially rot provoked by Botrytis Cinerea. This leads to two conclusion: first, a good vintage for sweet wines like Ausbruch is a bad vintage for Pinot Noir ; second, a cold vintage (bad for the red wines) is good for the Pinot Noir. Example: 2010 is a very bad year for red wines from Burgenland. The ripeness was low or even bad. The summer was cold, the autumn was wet. This led to catastrophic red in some parts of Burgenland, Kollwentz, one of the top estate, has not produced any single vineyard wines… but this was great for Pinot Noir. No problem with ripening, preservation of typical aromas, great balance… Every single Pinot from 2010 I have tasted were on the top : Dürr by Kollwentz, Blauburgunder  by Triebaumer, Unter den Terrassen by Umathum, Pinot Noir Réserve by Alphart… This one is no exception.

The nose is intense, with a lot of berries and a hint of oakiness (as I said, a very clever use of oak). It is a deep, dense nose. Still very young. On find also a hint of pepper. The palate give the same impression with a nice spiciness in the finish, a long finish. The structure is quite powerful, soft acidity and soft tannins. It is a very good wine in the making and still very young. I expect it to be at its best in around 3 years.

Wineops’ rating: 82/100 ; + 5

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