Wenzel - 'Fränky' - Blaufränkisch & Pinot Noir - Burgenland, AT - 2021

Blaufränkisch with Pinot noir. Light and drinkable red wine, aromatic on the nose, light-footed and yet profound. A refined wine for all occasions and every day! Spontaneous and mash fermented, unfiltered.
Tasting note:

Composed of 70% Blaufränkisch and 30% Pinot Noir, this vivid red from Austria's Burgenland region is a high-energy thrill ride. Natural winemaking at its absolute best!"

Rarely, if ever, have I encountered a wine so aptly named: "wild and free" is exactly how we all felt after tasting this primal, perfumed, irresistible red from Michael Wenzel.

It's a blend of Blaufränkisch and Pinot Noir that played like music for me, combining the raw, dark-toned crunch of Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" and the flower-power aromatics of Cream's "I Feel Free". Honestly, I could see myself drinking this and only this for the foreseeable future. It perfectly encapsulates everything that is so appealing about "natural" wine-the rawness and immediacy-without any of the flaws that often sink wines in this category. Wenzel is a relentless experimenter and a dedicated practitioner of organic viticulture, and with "Wild and Free" he set out to evoke the lightweight, low-alcohol, chillable reds his winemaking family long enjoyed with lunch. It succeeds at that, but it will be just as good with dinner, too-pure and juicy, mouth-watering and mineral, this is a talented winemaker's all-purpose "house" wine. Get some on your table as soon as you can!

David Lynch, Sommelier & Editorial Director

What does happiness have to do with renunciation?

You can think about that for quite a while.
But we find: A lot! Unnecessary ballast falls away, you gain freedom and can better concentrate on the essentials. We do this in our winemaking and also try to analyse exactly in everyday life: do we need this or that? - or is it simply practised, has it simply crept into our lives out of habit?

Such inner processes are also reflected in wine and photography: both become more expressive, more focused, more precise and much more alive! And at the same time, everything becomes simpler. For us, this is a great moment of happiness. Actually more than just a moment - it nests in our lives as a fundamental contentment.
Our wine contains the spirit and creativity of people who respect the earth and its environment. A juice full of life!
Our vineyards are all located in Rust, in the so-called Rust Hills, directly on the western shore of Lake Neusiedl, 5 km away from the green Hungarian border. The climate in Rust is influenced by the Pannonian climate, the temperature regulation of Lake Neusiedl and the cooling downdrafts of the Leitha Mountains.

While the chalky soils in the north are an excellent basis for Blaufränkisch and Burgundy varieties, the quartz-rich, typical "Ruster Schotter" soils in the south produce predominantly fine, mineral white wines - also from the rare, traditional variety Furmint, which is currently experiencing a renaissance as Burgenland's former most important grape variety.