The Muhr-Niepoort 2006 Carnuntum represents their second wine, fermented with a high percentage of whole clusters and minimal extraction, but comes entirely from the Spitzerberg. Superb purity of bitter-edged black fruits and a silken-texture yet vivacity mark this as a wine perfect for present consumption, yet there is really no telling yet how it will mature. (I have not had a chance to revisit the excellent 2004.) Pepper, herbs, and smoky pungency contribute to the complexity here just as in the 2004, but this outstanding value shows an extra measure of refinement and sheer length. 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 Carnuntum surprises with sweaty, meaty, gamey, smoky notes in the nose, along with lightly cooked blackberry and brown spices. (Some of the funk is probably reductive in nature and should dissipate short term.) Somberly black-fruited on the palate, but purer than the nose had led me to anticipate, it incorporates suggestions of humus, and decaying leaves. The finish offers low-toned mineral suggestions and a satisfying length of blemish-free black fruits. 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