Burgenland "Pannobile" 2017 - Claus Preisinger (vin nature)

Pannobile is a kind of collective from Gols, Burgenland. After the Austrian wine scandal in the late 80s, four winegrowers from Gols came together in 1992 to create a counter-voice. Every year, the now 9 members make a Pannobile wine in their own style, wine that they think fits the vintage and region.

The rules were simple:
1) The red wine must be made from one of three local grapes: Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch or Sankt Laurent. A blend or mono-varietal is up to the winegrower.
2) no powerhouses, so no new (excessive) wood aging and not too high in alcohol.
3) the wine must be recognizable for the region.

Every year there is a gigantic tasting with wine press, sommeliers and the wine growers themselves to taste each other's (and own) wines blind(!). There they judge the wines to determine whether they represent the region well enough. It has happened that in a vintage 8, 7, (or even once) 6 wines were found good enough to be released as Pannobile that year. In the last vintages all 9 wines are good enough to be bottled as Pannobile.

Hereby, the Pannobile of Claus Preisinger. Expressive, pure, elegant and with sufficient power. Beautiful terroir wine, beautiful Pannobile. With certainly a very large aging potential.

• Country / region: Austria / Wein aus Österreich (Burgenland)
• Grape variety(s): 60% Zweigelt, 40% Blaufränkisch
• In the vineyard: Soil composed of limestone and gravel. Biodynamic farming, harvest by hand. Vines located on the south.
• In the cellar: Spontaneous fermentation, Partial carbonic maceration for 10 days. 8 months Maturation in old wooden barrels. Unfiltered, without addition of So2.
• Goes well with: Préparé, beef, Ziebel roast beef, elegant game, hearty poultry, Fiaker goulash
• Quality mark: Biodynamic, vegan / Vin nature

Claus Preisinger is a talented young Austrian winemaker who has become an established name in the biodynamic/natural wine scene. At the Neusiedlersee, near Gols, his father cultivated a small 3 ha of orchards, as a hobby. After helping his father in the orchards for years and experience in California and with neighbor Hans Nittnaus, he took over his father's orchards in 2000. Claus has managed to expand these to a whopping 17 ha. On a soil consisting predominantly of fossil limestone and calcareous sandstone , he cultivates mainly local Blaufrankisch, together with St. Laurent, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir, Weissburgunder, Gruner Veltliner and Welschriesling. Gols is located on the eastern side of the Neusiedlersee in the so-called Seewinkel. This extends to the Hungarian border. Here it is scorching hot in the summer, resulting in the production of top red wines. They can compete worldwide. "My wines are a mirror image of nature. I do not intervene artificially in the vineyard or in the cellar. Even if I can improve the result, I still accept what nature gives of itself instead of intervening and manipulating." According to Claus Preisinger.

Claus is also co-founder of Pannobile (2004), a collective from Burgenland of 9 winegrowers (including Nittnaus and Pittnauer) who have been working the vineyards strictly biodynamically since 1994 and making natural wine in the wine cellar. Nothing out and nothing in. With the exception of his playful 'Beaujolais wine' Puszta Libre, Claus' wines are clean/pure and especially show the terroir well in the wine. Claus uses various methods and techniques to make different styles of wine. From Ancestral (Perlwein), fresh Puszta Libre that is drunk chilled (Maceration Carbonique), elegant white wines with skin maceration (Orange wine), top white wines to very powerful full red wines. Der Claus shows that natural wine does not have to be full of wine faults, but can be very good, pure and clean. Pure vin nature.