2016 Kopfensteiner Blaufränkisch Eisenberg DAC Südburgenland,

The first time we started turning over rocks and looking for Spontaneous fermentation is standard and racking is minimal producers in Eisenberg was 2014. The area looked depending on the vintage. Oak formats range from 500 to thematically ripe for Blue Danube given the confluence of 2000L and Thomas is very keen to top regularly and avoid Croatian, Austrian and Hungarian cultures and borders. VA and oxidation. The winemaking is straightforward and not repopulated the region with Croatian communities eager to embrace anything new too fast. after the Turks were pushed out in the mid 16th Century. For NOTES & PAIRINGS centuries, villages like Schandorf spoke a unique Croatian dialect. The culture was distinctly Croatian until 1921 when The area was literally named after a famed iron mine empires fell, borders changed and then broke up again with the (Eisen=iron, berg=mountain), so it’s no surprise this loamy . The result was a border area that became clay soil here is chock full of it. It’s also a requirement of the neglected. Today, Südburgenland is one of Austria's smallest DAC that no major oak be present, so this is spontaneously wine regions. It also feels far less developed compared to other fermented in 100% stainless steel and then aged for 13 parts of . Most of the wines are sold at the months in large neutral oak casks. The major characteristics Buschenschank (local taverns). The hillsides are dotted with are spice, earth, dark fruit, blood (iron), and then despite the adorable little press houses called Kellerstöckel, small houses ripeness, a lot of acidic lift to balance things out. It’s like built into the slope of the hill complete with a pressing room, grinding pepper, slate, and wild dark forest fruit in a mortar fermentation area, and a storage cellar. Families like and pestle but still championing one of my favorite German Kopfensteiner, with a focus on single vineyards, great farming, words, “Trinkspaß” – drinking fun. and a newly established DAC as of 2009, are further proof of ANALYTICS & PRONUNCIATION how site specific and delicious Blaufränkisch can be. PRODUCER: Kopfensteiner VINEYARDS APPELLATION: Südburgenland What sets Eisenberg apart from other red wine areas in VINTAGE: 2016 Burgenland or Carnuntum for instance, are the intensely GRAPE COMPOSITION: 100% Blaufränkisch ferrous clay and loamy soils often with layers and blue and CLIMATE: Continental green slate in concert with some of the highest elevations in SOILS: Loamy clay Austria. With 9 hectares in Eisenberg and 6 hectares in MACERATION & AGING: Spontaneously fermented in 100% Deutsch Schützen, Thomas Kopfensteiner and his wife Astrid stainless steel and then aged for 13 months in large neutral have been in charge of the winery since 2005 after Thomas oak casks took control from his father Manfred. The vast majority is ALCOHOL: 13.5% Blaufränkisch, but they also grow a little Zweigelt, Cabernet RESIDUAL SUGAR: 1 g/l Sauvignon, Merlot, Welschriesling and Weißburgunder. For the ACIDITY: 5.8 g/l past 12 years they haven’t used pesticides or herbicides, utilize local compost, spray chamomile, and benefit from the dense old growth forests surrounding the vineyards for healthy biodiversity. Similarly, mixed agriculture is still very common which contributes to biodiversity. The vineyards also sit in the transition from Burgenland into the Hungarian plain so persistent winds keep molds and other maladies at bay. The Weinberge, literally “wine mountain,” is a plateau located in Deutsch­Schützen, 295 meters above sea level. Mostly loam and clay, but very iron rich. The Saybritz vineyard, at around 400 meters high, is mostly quartz and sand with a ton of green schist/slate. Both sites enjoy cool climates at night despite being so hot in the day.

WINE MAKING Winemaking is careful and clean but not overly calculated. Much like volcanic soils in Hungary, the iron rich slate and schist soils are impossible to ignore. The trick is finding some balance. The DAC is fermented in temperature­controlled stainless steel but the Weinberg and Saybritz are not.

To order or get more information call or fax +1 (650) 941­4699. Blue Danube Wine Company PO Box 1011 | Los Altos, California 94023 | USA www.bluedanubewine.com