Tauss: Blaufränkisch Opok 2017

Isabelle Legeron, the enterprising organiser of Raw, the largest trade fair for natural wines, has made exactly two Blaufränkisch recommendations with the unbiased palate of a Frenchwoman in the last chapter of her book Natural Wine, which is absolutely worth reading. 

One of the two winemakers mentioned by Legeron was produced by Roland Tauss, who has been growing Blaufränkisch on the steep slopes of Hohenegg, a few kilometres from the Slovenian border, for years. In his opinion, the variety is ideally suited to the limestone-rich Opok soils of his vineyards, and the positioning between the warm, mediterranean-influenced south and the cool, alpine-influenced north also seems to favour the growth of the variety.

Roland Tauss cultivates his Blaufränkisch vineyards almost exclusively by hand due to their steepness (slopes of up to 50%).

In the cellar, the grapes were fermented spontaneously. After a rough clarification, the wine was matured in used wooden barrels for two years and neither filtered nor sulphured before bottling.

Mineral. Cool, crisp fruit sets the tone, complemented by earthy and dark spicy notes. The body is taut, dense and tightly woven, with a fresh, clear and purist feel on the palate. Despite its elegance, it has plenty of power.