Nitthaus Blaufrankisch 2019

Anita & Hans Nitthaus Blauer Zweigelt

Burgenland is Austria’s easternmost wine region, bordering Hungary along its entire eastern flank. The northern sector of Burgenland is dominated by Lake Neusiedl (or Neusiedlersee), Europe’s largest steppe lake. The Nittnaus family has resided on the edge of Neusiedlersee since 1684. Today, third-generation Hans Nittnaus and his wife Anita helm the winery his grandfather Johann began in 1927. After taking over from his father in 1985, in the aftermath of the well-publicized diethylene glycol scandal which (despite being perpetrated by only a few large wineries) so damaged Austrian wine’s reputation abroad, Hans was resolutely determined to claw out respect for the wines of his homeland.

Hans & Anita are regarded today as influential pioneers of contemporary Burgenland’s dynamic wine scene, among the greatest growers in all of Austria. Their two sons Andreas and Martin, as well as their niece Lydia, are fully involved in the day-to-day operations of the winery, and the two generations approach their work in a collaborative spirit. Theirs are the wines of seasoned masters who have learned over years of experience how to produce wines that taste precisely and proudly of where they are from. Nittnaus’ spectacular Zweigelt spends 12 months aging in used 500-liter oak casks from the renowned Stockinger cooperage, and is bottled with minimal sulfur. This delivers plenty of concentration and tension on its modest 12.5%-alcohol frame, with spicy purple fruits and a beam of lifted acidity.