The 2006 Spitzerberg follows a pattern of picking and vinifying the best parcels in two lots: one riper, without de-stemming; the other less ripe, de-stemmed, and given extended maceration. The overall impression here again combines intense black fruits (elderberry, mulberry, blackberry), Szechaun pepper, and pungent herbs familiar from other wines at this address, but now with a deeper core of flavors, the wine’s sassy brightness and sheer energy here harnessed to carnal and mineral complexities and generating a memorably palate-staining, savory finish. I would not hesitate to cellar this with the expectation that it will be worth following for a decade. The Dorli Muhr - Dirk Niepoort collaboration about which I wrote in issue 177 has resulted in a pair of 2006 wines that definitively demonstrate – if there were still doubt – the potential of Blaufrankisch in the once-celebrated Spitzerberg , just south of the Danube and near the Hungarian frontier. It’s easy both in the glass and in the vineyard to comprehend Niepoort’s tendency to see these wines as Burgundian in inspiration. “What makes Blaufrankisch great here is the lightness and elegance of it,” he asserts, “but I don’t claim that it tastes similar to Pinot Noir.” The property Muhr and Niepoort are developing on the Spitzerberg included young parcels of Syrah and Merlot, yielding surprisingly impressive raw materials, whose 2006 marriage – dubbed Rote Erde – I have not yet tasted.Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

The 2005 Spitzerberg confirms the animal side of the vintage here, but now we have a clean, clear beef-bouillon-like impression mingled with the black fruit and black pepper. There is less flattering polish to the texture here than in the 2004, but nonetheless a good sense of stuffing and grip considering the context of the vintage. This walk on the dark side also takes you past various evidently mineral formations, with a finish full of head-scratching intrigue. I would plan on revisiting it over the next 2-3 years.Since 2002, Dorli Muhr (a local) and husband Dirk Niepoort, of Port fame, have been farming one of Carnuntum’s few traditional sites for Blaufrankisch, the Spitzerberg, where she had inherited and planted a small plot of vines. Niepoort fell in love with the Spitzerberg and its history as well as with the potential for Blaufrankisch. (“I think it’s the most elegant variety in the world, apart from Pinot Noir.”) The couple purchased additional acreage, and they have one contract for supplemental grapes. The early wines are already a revelation. The slope of the Spitzerberg reminds Muhr and Niepoort of the Cote d’Or and, accordingly, they have divided their production among three bottlings comparable to generic, village and premier cru. (There is also some Syrah, but thereby hangs a tale that will be told in these pages on another occasion.)Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

Muhr and Niepoort’s 2004 Spitzerberg Blaufrankisch was vinified in essentially traditional Burgundian fashion, in two lots. One is picked very ripe and fermented with the stems. The other is picked a bit earlier, destemmed, and subjected to extended maceration. This bursts from the glass with a shower of Cabernet Franc-like black fruits and flowers (the latter no doubt enhanced by the portion of the wine that is fermented vendange entier.) Silky in texture and refined in tannin, the wine reveals saline, graphite, black pepper, and further floral complications on the palate, carrying into a long, refined finish, capturing a sense of vivacity and dynamic that characterizes the wine as a whole. I can easily imagine this having 8-10 years of interest in the bottle. Since 2002, Dorli Muhr (a local) and husband Dirk Niepoort, of Port fame, have been farming one of Carnuntum’s few traditional sites for Blaufrankisch, the Spitzerberg, where she had inherited and planted a small plot of vines. Niepoort fell in love with the Spitzerberg and its history as well as with the potential for Blaufrankisch. (“I think it’s the most elegant variety in the world, apart from Pinot Noir.”) The couple purchased additional acreage, and they have one contract for supplemental grapes. The early wines are already a revelation. The slope of the Spitzerberg reminds Muhr and Niepoort of the Cote d’Or and, accordingly, they have divided their production among three bottlings comparable to generic, village and premier cru. (There is also some Syrah, but thereby hangs a tale that will be told in these pages on another occasion.)Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400