110-Year-Old Vines, Zero Compromises: Moric Blaufränkisch

“No other grape variety comes closer to the elegance and complexity of Burgundian Pinot Noir than Austrian Blaufränkisch.” - Roland Velich of Weingut Moric

 

Roland Velich is our kind of producer, deeply rooted in the lands of the Austrian Burgenland and singularly obsessed with expressing the full potential of both the local grape and terroir. Velich started Weingut Moric in the early 2000’s with one goal in mind: to craft elegant, balanced, and naturally made wines from the often-overlooked Austrian grape, Blaufränkisch. He has been extraordinarily successful at elevating Blaufränkisch – setting a new standard of excellence in relatively short order and proving how special this obscure Austrian grape can be.  A passionate Burgundy lover, he seeks elegance and purity over power and opulence, and while so many Blaufränkisch are either over-extracted or made in the other extreme and taste like Tutti Frutti bubble gum, Velich’s complex wines feature fine, present tannins with ripe, fresh and balanced fruit and a weightless quality that rivals Pinot Noir from Burgundy.       
 
Moric’s vineyards are located in Mittelburgenland where soil is made up of glacial loess and clay with a volcanic substrate; some vineyard sites are on schist or chalk, depending on the parcel. The vines are up to 110 years old and planted the old way, densely and rising from their single stakes in the goblet style. While the planting is dense, the harsh growing conditions as well as the practice of late and selective harvesting leads to very low yields. Like many of the other great winemakers of the world, Velich does not use pesticides or herbicides in the vineyards.
 
Moric’s 2022 Blaufränkisch is drinking wonderfully, with an elegant nose of dark-red fruit with hints of stone. On the palate expect a juicy, yet bone dry wine, showing dark fruit, spice, and some subtle herbal notes with smooth but present and purposeful tannins. Velich has created something marvelous here, as well as a killer deal. Whether you are looking for crowd pleasing, balanced, drinking red for the upcoming holidays, or something interesting to lay down for a few years, you would be hard-pressed to find something that ticks quite as many boxes as Moric’s 2022 Blaufränkisch. One of the best ~$30 dollar wines you can find and worth snagging a case as this will improve and hold for at least a decade