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ACCOLADES “Keep your eyes and ears open, because the Heinrichs are not only known for the uncompromising quality of their wines, but are always good for a pleasant surprise” —Peter Moser The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide 2010/2011 “The least expensive, tank-rendered wines here have been consistently brilliant in their straightforward, generous way, while Heinrich’s Pinot Noir and his many WHAT DOES IT MEAN sophisticated blends seem increasingly nuanced and TO BE A PURIST? comfortable in their own skins.” —David Schildknecht Gernot and Heike Heinrich founded their winery in 1990 with MAP COURTESY AWMB AWMB COURTESY MAP Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide No.7 2 ½ acres of vineyard purchased from Gernot’s family. His early work in the family winery, like most of that generation, was purely “Gernot Heinrich’s winery, a post-modernist palazzo with an agricultural pursuit, with the goal more related to quantity large, stylish rooms decorated with contemporary art, production. The parents had wished their son would choose a was one of the first bold statements in Austrian wine.... different path — as they did not see as clearly the potential for The new wines created in this cellar were marked for a few vintages by a striving for power and concentration; great wine from the area that was soon to come to reality. NEUSIEDLERSEE HUGELLAND but in recent years Heinrich, like other top growers in Just over a decade later, the Heinrichs were recognized the area, has abandoned this style in favour of a more with the prestigious Falstaff “Winemaker of the Year” award. complex, more elegant, and balanced line, which is The philosophy at the winery is as transparent and pure as the wonderfully successful.” wines. It was not easy at the beginning to start from scratch, THE HILLS OF LEITHA AND THE LEITHABERG DAC —Philip Blom, The Wines of Austria, Revised Edition but it did give Gernot & Heike a lot of joy and some measure of freedom to make a fresh start for the area . That joy and that Gernot Heinrich and his Bavarian wife Heike represent The last fingertip of the Alpine range extends towards the top of Lake bravery still drive them both today, with the view across the the immediate post-revolutionary generation of Lake Neusiedl to the Leithaberg for the next challenges. Neusiedl from the west, ending in the village of Jois, close to the Leitha river. winemakers in Austria… Fresh out of wine school in All Heinrich wines are produced in Gols at the modern Klosterneuburg he took over the family land in the This unique and particular terroir is now recognized with its own appellation, cellar completed in 2000. Constructed on multiple levels so that Evangelical enclave of Gols in the mid-eighties and with the first wines just released in 2010 from the Leithaberg DAC. The soils began making the sort of wines that made the Austrian all wines can be gently transferred from tank to barrel via gravity Petronell- Hundsheim Maria Elend he province of Burgenland lies flow, the winery is fairly simple aside from that. No special NEUSIEDLERSEEWildungs- Carnuntum wine press hold its breath in admiration. His reputation mauer of this area are typically rich with limestone and chalk, and the interplay KiKKittseeittstsee M U Schöna- on Austriaʼs central eastern techniques are required once the wines rest gently on their skins N T Hollern has grown like his house: an ultra-modern, brutalist U brunn Prellenkirchen Arbesthal Höflein Rohrau Göttlesbrunn between the mountain climate and the lake breezes make it a perfect home Deutsch-Haslau border. The climate there is construction poking two fingers at the more traditional and the hard work in the vineyards pays forward into the fresh Pamama xneusiedl BRUCK A.D. LEITHA rf regulated by the last fingers of constructions around it. In the past decade, Heinrich has wine. Multiple aging cellars house the barrels of varied size and Gattendorfttetendendo for Blaufränkisch and certain white grapes. The first releases from this DAC L E DeuDeutsch e i Jahrndorfhr t h a the Alps, which extend to the been above all the men who have made some of the age that mature the wines until ready to release. n Kaiser-KKaa P A steinbruchs R N E D Zurndorfurrnndorf O R – 2009 white wines and 2008 red wines, are just coming to market now in the F E R most exciting (and expensive) garage-style, biodynamic P L top of Lake Neusiedl, the other major Jois A T T S E T E Winden NENNEUSIEDLEUU G a. See Breitenbrunn A. SSEE red wines in the country; the sort of wine every restaurant Nickelsdorflsdssdodorff influence in the area. It is in the two wine US. The Heinrich winery now owns nearly 50 acres of vineyards, some quite R WeidenWe - a. SeeSe Purbach E craves for its list” Neusiedlersee E E growing regions on both sides of this lake old vines, in this exciting region. en S Golsols —Decanter World Wine Awards, May 2011 R L Mönchhoff that most of the provinceʼs wine is grown – W u l k a HHalbturnalb D PPodersdorfodod E a. See the two areas known as NEUSIEDLERSEE E S E R U N G au E Frauenkirchenaueenenkkik rch D L D I and NEUSIEDLERSEE-HUGELLAND. E N I S U S E N The Neusiedl Lake (NOY-seed-el) is quite S E U Zicksee E W I St. AndräAAnndrn rä E N a.a ZickseeZiZiccckk K E L N AndauAnA shallow, but large enough to help moderate Lange Tadtenadadtte Illmitzlmitz Lacke ApetlonApeAAp tl temperatures in what can be very hot WallernWalll summers here. The average temperatures Pamhagenen are slightly higher than the other side of the Alpine range in Burgundy, and the area www.heinrich.at AWMB COURTESY MAP receives slightly less rain on average. Soils on the Eastern side of Lake IMPORTED BY WINEBOW INC., NEW YORK, NY IMPORTING, DISTRIBUTING AND DEVELOPING PREMIUM WINES & SPIRITS FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS Neusiedl are medium to heavy textured, with gravel and high calcareous content, 1.800.WINEBOW • WINEBOW.COM especially on the hillside of the Parndorfer Platte. This ridge traverses the village of Gols, which explains its long history as a NEUSIEDLERSEE winemaking town. VARIETIES WINES Varieties used in this region were mostly white THE CLASSICS THE CRU WINES and much of it was produced in the sweeter styles that met popular demand in the middle • Red – the fresh young one, the picnic • Gabarinza – a historic vineyard site in Gols, of the 20th century. But in the last quarter of wine. The youngest of the blends, all planted to 40% Zweigelt, 22% Blaufränkisch, three native varieties. 33% Merlot and 5% St. Laurent. The final that century, a new generation of winemakers BIODYNAMICS blend varies a bit year over year to express the embraced the local RED varieties and married • Zweigelt – the largest in terms of best character of the vintage. Aged 20 months In 2006 the winery began the labor intensive them with critical knowledge gained through production, a versatile wine with lovely in 50% new casks, both 225 and 500 liter. Gabarinza Salzberg process of converting all their estate vineyards to primary fruit, a dash of spice and loads 2008 2007 travel and work in many wine regions – biodynamic farming. As with all improvements in of charm. • Blaufränkisch Alterberg – high alkaline, particularly abroad. Most top quality wineries in the winery since its inception, the primary and limestone and chalk soils on the Leithagebirge BURGENLAND BURGENLAND the region now focus on these native varieties, • Blaufränkisch – The interplay of earth hills above Winden are the source, and the central motive for the conversion is the elevation and fruit is apparent, as this variety results are a vibrant expression of the variety. and preservation of the best qualities in the employing small amounts of international grapes shows the soil on which it is grown. Extended barrel aging. wines. The Steiner principles are fairly strictly to enhance the complexity of their blends. Pinot Fine minerality, generous acidity, and observed, but individualized to the particular Noir, of all the “imports”, has the longest local dark fruits marry on the palate. • Weissburgunder Leithakalk – with the new vineyards acquired on the western side of the conditions of Heinrich’s vineyards and their history and so is considered native by some. Weissburgunder Leithakalk Blaufränkisch Alter Berg • St. Laurent – fine in texture like its lake came old vines of Pinot Blanc placed 2008 2008 developing understanding of the vineyards and Zweigelt – a cross between the other two relative Pinot Noir, but with a deeper fortuitously on chalk soils. The unique and varieties within. varieties below, this is the most common red color and more spice character. clear character of the wine begged for bottling. BURGENLAND BURGENLAND The benefits observed so far include, but are grape in Austria. Cheerful and straight in most • Salzberg – the rarest and dearest. The heavy not limited to: versions, the results are pleasurable and soils of this cru site are hospitable in particular • Improved physiological ripeness – wines ultimately drinkable. for Merlot, which often makes up a large that are more in balance with fruit and acidity percentage of the final blend. Blaufränkisch – elegant, with a strong sense of when they are ready to harvest place, this variety produces Austria’s most • More authentic taste – reduced external and/or chemical input acclaimed red wines and reveals most clearly the intricacies of the different terroirs in Burgenland. PANNOBILE – THE SPECIAL PROJECT • Healthier grapes – smaller berries with thicker skins, more resistant to disease St. Laurent – related to Pinot Noir, this variety As one of the original 7 members that in 1994 was all but abandoned by most wineries until The drawbacks – more sleepless nights, the founded the Pannobile group, Heinrichs have been recently because of its difficultly ripening and on the forefront of the movement to promote the stress of the learning curve, less yield from the susceptibility to disease.