Winter is here, finally!

Der Winter ist da, endlich!

Find the English version below. 

In dieser Ausgabe:
- Winterschnitt
- Kellerarbeit

Winterschnitt
Der Sage nach, hat ein ausgerissener Esel in einem Mönchskloster viele Triebe von Rebstöcken abgefressen. Die Mönche beobachteten daraufhin, dass die Trauben dieser Stöcke süsser schmeckten als die der Stöcke, die nicht gestutzt wurden. Daraus soll sich der Rebschnitt entwickelt haben.
Das Zurückschneiden der Reben ist der erste wichtige Schritt und die Basis für die Qualität der Trauben, da dadurch schon jetzt die Weichen für die Anzahl der Triebe und dadurch auch die Menge an Trauben gelegt wird.
Ein Video zu dieser Arbeit finden Sie auf unserer Startseite und auf Youtube..
Ein kurzes Video zu dieser Arbeit finden Sie hier.

KellerarbeitWir beginnen schön langsam mit den Verkostungen für die Abfüllung der Weißweine 2015 der PURE Linie. Anfang März dürfen wir Ihnen den Welschriesling Pure 2015,Sauvignon Blanc Pure 2015 und den Zweigelt Rosé Pure 2015 präsentieren.
Bereits jetzt ist der Zweigelt Frizzante 2015 zum Vorteilspreis im Onlineshop verfügbar. Der Frizzante zeigt sich unglaublich erdbeer- und himbeerfruchtig, unterlegt mit einer feinen Perlage und mit gutem Trinkfluss.

Winterliche Grüße aus Halbturn
Franz Schneider

Winter is here, finally!

In this issue:
- Winter pruning
- Cellar work

Winter pruning
As the story goes a donkey, who strolled around in the vineyards of a monastery gnawed on shoots of some vines. The monks discovered that the grapes of these vines were much sweeter than the others. That's how pruning was invented.
Winter pruning is the first to ensure the quality of our grapes as we influence the number of shoots and as result the yield of our vines.
A short clip on this work may be found here.

Cellar work
Beside the work in the vineyards we started tastings for bottling of the white wines 2015 of our PURE range. We are looking forward to presenting Welschriesling Pure 2015, Sauvignon Pure 2015 and Zweigelt Rosé Pure 2015 with the beginning of March.
Already available and now on discount in our Onlineshop is the new Zweigelt Frizzante 2015. The wine displays a wonderful strawberry and raspberry fruit with nice fine bubbles on the palate.

Best regards
Franz Schneider

Wines from South Africa

Tasting notes from an internal Wein&Co tasting. As always the notes are reflecting my subjective view on the wines at this certain time. They might change immensely over time.

1. Jordan CH 2012 - ok/g

Bright yellow hue, fruit forward, quinces, bit restrained, reminds me of German RR, quite sharp tingling acid structure, maybe added acid, bit short, hints of maturation,

2. Jordan SB 2012 - g

bright yellow with green hints, gooseberries, typical nose, good balance, lingering acid structure, good refreshing wine,

3. Lammershoek LAM Chenin Viognier 2012 - g

Dried fruit, biscuits, hints of toasted bread and raisins, quite smooth, lacks a bit acid backbone, but nice balance, definitely different in style, nicely weird.

4. Steenberg HSM spynx CH 2012 - g

Upfront oakiness, smoke, new world style, nice balance in oak and acid structure, quite lingering, bit too young, good new world CH, good drinkability,

5. LAM SY Rose 2012 - ok

Nice pink hue, overripe strawberries, bit stinky, weird, hints of MLF flavors, tannins prominent, pleasant bitterness with good acid backbone, maybe good as spritzer

6. Boekenhoutskloof SY Porcupine Ridge 2012 - ok

Very young, hints of MLF, nice cherry fruit, bit bitter tannins, refreshing, simple,

7. LAM SY 2011 - ok/g

Nice black olives paste upfront, hints of typical SA minty ness, same weird LAmmershoek style, bit bitter tannins, strange,

8. Steenberg HSM Echo Red Blend 2010 - g

Very nice fruit forward, black cherries, olives, smooth tannins, lingering, good balance but maybe a bit high in alc, could do with more time,

9. Jordan CS 2009 - ok

Very simple fruit on the nose, bit burnt rubber, not very expressive, smooth tannins but unbalanced high alc, slightest hints of oak in the aftertaste,

10. Jordan ME 2009 - ok

Same style as 9, bit more fruit forward, very soft, lacking structure and unpleasant high alc in the finish

11. Sterhuis Blanc de Blanc 2009 - ok

No bubbles visible, oxidative style, very ripe, toasted bread, yellow apples, not my style, nice mousseux on the palate but bit coarsley intense, seems to be quite high in dosage

CH 100%

12. Stellenrust Sparkling 2008 - g

Nice but bit coarse bubbles, nice dried fruits, very good value for money, ways better than 11, good acid backbone, nice biscuits, lingering,

13. Jordan Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2011 - ok

Golden yellow hue, oak upfront, new world style, bit rustic, mellow high alc, burns a bit, to much oak, simply made, very round,

  

14. De Wetshof CH The Site 2012 - vg

White yellow hue, nice fruit forward style, quinces, softly structured but very good lingering backbone, mineral touch, good value for money, much more elegant in style,

15. Barry Lodge Hill RR 2011 - g

Mineral quite German style, bit matured, nice acid backbone, lingering, complex and tingling acidity, good,

16. Jordan RR 2012 - ok

Peach candy, hints of sweetness, upfront fruit flavors, very sweet on the palate, consumer friendly, simple, rather high amount of residual sugar

17. Saronsberg Viognier 2012 - ok

Bit restrained, needs more air, bit oaky, mineral touch, lingering acid backbone, a bit to made, like added acid, seems to open up with more air,

18. Eagles Nest Viognier 2012 - g

Super fruit forward, quinces, honey, pears, complex, nice balanced acid and tannins, a bit harsh tannins in the end, needs a bit more time, bit bitter finish, would work well with spice food,

19. Stellenrust Chenin Blanc Reserve 47 2011 - ok/g

Golden yellow hue, bit oaky, with MLF, very full-bodied, prominent alc on mid palate, made style, simple

20. Raats Chenin Blanc Old Vines Reserve 2011 - g

Bright yellow hue, very precise, mineral touch, lingering

21. Newton Johnson Pinot Noir Elgin 2011 - vg

Very good typical PN color, super typical Pinot style, raspberries and strawberries, bit stinky, hints of burnt rubber, too high alc, unbalanced, needs more structure, bit too lean for the alc,

22. Hamilton Russel PN 2011 - vg/del

Nice transparent hue, cherry fruit, more SA style, hints of minty ness, power on the palate, nicely structured, lingering, more international style,

23. Saronberg SZ 2011 - g

Pure purple hue, ways too young, bit MLF, hubba bubba style, very smooth tannins, high alc on midpalate, plums, overripe, Australia style,

24. Hartenberg SZ 2008 - vg

Nicely developed ruby red hue, nice expressive nose, ethereal, violets, hints of oak but nicely integrated, with more air upfront black olives, plums, spicey, complex,

25. Stellenrust Barrel Aged Pinotage 2009 - yech

Hints of Brett, gets more with air, bit better on the palate, harsh tannins, will get worse with more age,

26. Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve 2010 - ok

Bit stinky, burnt rubber, simple made style, strange combination of tannin and alc, maybe too high yield, lean finish

27. Thelema CS 2009 - vg

Pure SA Cab style, cassis, lingering, bit young, very nice style, more elegant in style, focused, will improve with more time,

28. Le Riche CS Reserve 2010 - ok

Overripe, new world style, too high alc, super unbalanced, very smooth, lacking cab structure on the palate, meaty, lacking acid backbone,

29. Camberley CF 2010 - ok/g

Cab style, tomato leaves, bit restrained, black fruit, olives, bit restrained, hints of acetone with more air, super high alc, powerful, unbalanced

30. Raats CF 2010 - vg/del

More fruit forward than 29, nice black olives paste, typical, quite elegant in style, complex, powerful, lingering, very nice, kind of refreshing,

31. Eagles Nest Shiraz 2010 - g

Upfront oak, toasty, very young, bit stinky, very smooth tannin structure, bit high alc, needs more time, will be very good in a few years time.

32. Hartenberg The Stork SZ 2008 - vg/del

Ethereal, upfront spices, definitely profiting from time, black olives, balanced, quite young though the age, potential, changes with air, stays, very good, perfect SA Shiraz style.

33. Constantia Glen Five 2008 - vg

BDX blend, quite fruit forward, black fruits, black cherries, intense, ripe style but focused, nice structure, quite high alc, drinking temp needs to be perfect, lingering, potential.

34. Jordan Cobblers Hill 2009 - g

CF, CS, ME, bit burnt, very smooth tannins, high alc, lingering,

35. Meerlust Rubicon 2008 - vg

CF, CS, ME, PV, alc detectable in the nose, hints of oxidative style, fresh on the palate, quite powerful, very tannic backbone, still young, needs time.

Christmas tasting

Weinrunde 14.12.2012

The Christmas tasting of our tasting club was quite interesting. Grenache was the theme and nobody had the right answer. Personally I think it's much more difficult to taste a certain variety than a specifc region our style.
All wines were tasted blind and were accompanied by the delicious food you see on the pics.

1. Domaine de la Mordorée Tavel 2011 - good
Rosé, Tavel, very full-bodied, good companion to food, rather structured, good length, pairs very well with the starter

2. Domaine Roche Audran Cotes du Rhone 2010 -  good/very good
Fruity, cinnamon, Christmas spices, cherry fruit, oak on the palate, lingering, hints of bitterness, straight tannins, bit made style, with food and air more harsher.

3. Coloma Garnacha 2009 - good
Plums upfront, hints of oak, spices, cassis, on the border to over ripeness, super fruity on the palate, juicy black berries, bit bitter in the end, nice but easy drinking, tutti fruity uncomplicated,

4. Palacios Remondo Rioja la Montessa 2009 - very good
Very fruity, more structure than three, lingering, hints of cassis and black berries, quite young but promising, spicy and black better, bit alcoholic,

5. Juan d´Anguera Finca l´Argata 2010 - ok
Fruit-forward and easy drinking style, plums, bit overripe, sour cherries, super strong, to much alcohol, unbalanced, chocolate plums,

6. Alvaro Palacios Camins Priorat 2011 - good
Young, maybe a bit too young, hints of MLF, black berries, quite strong, forest fruit with more air, quite high alcohol, lush, strong, sweet tannins,

7. Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac Rouge 2010 - ok
Oak, tannin on the nose, dense, black pepper, not really fruity, super structured, lingering, to bold, kind of too much of everything, (as I know the wine rather good I think this was not a perfect bottle, but we weren't able to pick up a fault)

8. Chapoutier Chateauneuf du Pape La Bernadine 2010 -  very good / delicous
Red berries, raspberries, fruity, needs time, but promising, tightly structured but smooth tannins, oak and hints of chocolate, lingering, very nicely structured, elegant, very good, fine grained tannins, extract sweetness,

9. Penfold Bin 138 2007 - good / very good
Juicy tannin  upfront with cassis on the nose, kind of sweet but with tannins grip, chocolate, not as tightly meshed as 8., bitter on mid palate, simply made,

10. Niepoort LBV 2007 - good / very good
Dried fruit, forest fruit, nice and fruit forward style, lingering, good food partner

Austrian Wines should be cheaper ...

... at least according to Mr. Klinger, head of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, in the UK.

find out more details by following this link:

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2012/02/austria-chases-lower-uk-prices/

Very strange indeed as (just a wild guess) all other generic boards are working on raising the prices.

Neusiedlersee DAC officially confirmed

Neusiedlersee DAC was confirmed in the meeting of the regional committee on 1st February 2012. Virtually none of the points (Alcohol levels, sales dates, blend composition, flavour profile) were mentioned in the concept. The approved concept will be sent to the national committee and is to be confirmed within the next few weeks.

At Artisan Wines we don't feel the standards of this new Neusiedlersee DAC region are meeting our quality standards and we will therefore not produce a Neusiedlersee DAC this year. Maybe the things will change in the future (but actually I don't think so).

Examples:
It is possible to produce a Neusiedlersee Klassik with 14.5% abv and a Reserve with just 13% abv !!
Even the red wines of the Pure range rest at least 6 to 8 months (mostly even longer) in big barrels. There is no way the bottle before 1st March the year following the harvest as the wines are far too young.