Michael Wenzel / Neusiedlersee, Burgenland / Austria

Michael Wenzel is based in Rust, a town on the west bank of Lake Neusiedler in Burgenland where his family have been making since 1647. Today Michael holds 11 hectares of vines in some of the finest sites around Rust, and focuses on the Furmint , a variety he has been passionate about from an early age.

Furmint was almost wiped out of existence in the 20th century when the iron curtain forced the separation of Austria and . In the 1980s Michael’s father Robert Wenzel started bringing Furmint vines across the border with a view to reintroduce it into the local culture. Today Michael cultivates 3 of the 10 hectares of Furmint planted in the country, and is widely considered to be a pioneer of this variety in Austria. The quartz, gneiss and mica schist soils of his are perfectly suited to the Furmint grape, producing structured, mineral . He also grows Blaukfränkisch on his more calcareous sites, which yield focused, elegant expressions of this traditional Austrian variety.

Michael is dedicated to organic farming and minimal intervention winemaking - preferring to let his grapes speak for themselves. All his wines are spontaneously fermented without the addition of any yeast, and the cellar work is kept to a bare minimum.

Pet Nat Furmint 2016 (11.5% alc.)

The Furmint grapes come from a number of parcels planted around the town of Rust. The soils here are a combination of grey quartz, gneiss and mica schist. The grapes are harvested early, when the alcohol levels are low, spontaneously fermented and bottled directly from the tank without disgorgement.

Furmint Unfiltriert 2016 (12.5% alc.)

This Furmint comes from a number of parcels planted around the town of Rust. The soils here are a combination of grey quartz, gneiss and mica schist soils. This is clean and pure expression of this variety with a bracing acidity and a delicate aromatic profile. It undergoes whole bunch fermentation in stainless steel tanks, and no artificial yeasts are added. The wine is then bottled without filtration.

Gelber Muskateller Unfiltriert 2015 (12% alc.)

The Gelber Muskateller grapes comes from a number of parcels planted around the town of Rust. The soils here are a combination of grey quartz, gneiss and mica schist soils. The grapes undergo whole bunch fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then pressed and aged with the fine lees in tank for 7 months before being bottled without filtration.

Wild + Free 2016 (11% alc.)

Made from 100% Gelber Muskateller. The grapes come from 3 diferent vineyards planted on quartz and clay with alluvial deposits. The grapes are destemmed and spontaneously fermented on the skins for 10 days in steel tanks. The wine is then kept on the lees for 7 months before being bottled without filtration.

Furmint Vogelsang 2015 (11.5% alc.)

The grapes for this single Furmint come from the grey quartz, gneiss and mica schist soils of the Vogelsang vineyard. This was the first vineyard the Wenzel family planted to Furmint back in the 1980s, and it has proved to be a very special for Furmint, producing expressive wines with enormous depth. The grapes are spontaneously fermented and then aged in used barriques. Only 800 bottles were produced in 2014.

Garten Eden Furmint 2015 (13% alc.)

The tiny Garten Eden site was planted in 2007 using 100 year old cuttings. As a result the bunches are loose and small compared to the other Furmint vines. The soils here are a special red quartz and yield extraordinarily complex and refined expressions of the Furmint variety. The grapes were spontaneously fermented in 500 litre barrels (50% new ). The wine was then kept in oak without sulphur for 14 months and then bottled without filtration.

Blaufränkisch aus dem Kalk 2014 (11.5% alc.)

As the name suggests, the Blaufränkisch grapes come from the ‘kalk’ (limestone) rich soils of Rust. The here produces structured, and elegant expressions of Blaufränkisch, with a firm mineral core and plenty of dark fruit and spices. This wine was spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, and aged for 8 months in large oak barrels before being bottled without filtration.

Rusterberg 2015

The Pinot Noir grapes come from the densely planted Rusterberg vineyard rich in mica schist soils. 20% of the grapes are whole bunch fermented with the stems in open top stainless steel. The wine is then aged in 500 litre used oak for 15 months.

Kleiner Wald Pinot Noir 2015

The densely planted Kleiner Wald vineyard has more limestone content, yielding a Pinot Noir with a very diferent character to the Rusterberg Pinot. Michael vinifies the wine in exactly the same way as the Rusterberg in order to emphasise the diferent . 20% of the grapes are whole bunch fermented with the stems in open top stainless steel. The wine is then aged in 500 litre used oak for 15 months.

Gelber Muskateller Auslese 2016 (0.375L 12.5% alc.)

Rust has always had a strong reputation for sweet wines, and the Wenzel family have been making sweet wines in this region for decades. The botrytised Gelber Muskateller grapes come from two diferent sites of the Ruster hill chain, where the soils mainly consist of slate crystals and gneiss particles with quartz. During summer and early autumn of 2016 the grapes ripened steadily, and the grapes successfully reached Beerenauslese levels of ripeness. The grapes were hand harvested at the middle of November. The fruit was gently crushed into bins and remained in contact with the skins for 12 hours. After the wine was fermented slowly at 12 degrees in stainless steel over a period of 3 months. The wine was then racked into steel and matured for 3 months on the fine lees prior to being bottled in May 2017.

Furmint Beerenauslese 2016

The Furmint grapes come from 3 diferent vineyards including the Vogelsang and Garten Eden sites. The grapes were picked in two rounds, the first in early October and the second in early November. The grapes were fermented in used 225l barriques and kept on fine lees until bottling in May 2017.

Ruster SAZ 2005 (0.375L 10.3% alc. 219 g/l r.s) SAZ is the designation for one of the oldest sweet wine appellations in Rust. The 30 year old Furmint and Gelber Muskateller vines grow on gneiss and mica schist soils, and the grapes are hand selected in several rounds over a period of 10 days to ensure the fruit is perfectly ripe. The grapes are then foot trodden and macerate for 18 hours before being gently pressed. The grapes are then fermented for 6 months in used barriques and aged on the fine lees for 16 months before being bottled.