Wenzel Furmint Vogelklang

Grapes: Furmint

Region: Burgenland, Austria

Vintage: 2019

Viticulture: Organic

Soils: Slate + Granite + Gneiss

Vinification: Direct press then fermentation in used oak barrels

Aging: 18 months in used oak barrels

Fining or Filtering: None

Sulfur: None added

Notes from the Importer: Michael Wenzel is based in Rust, a town on the west bank of Lake Neusiedler in Burgenland where his family have been making wine since 1647. Today Michael holds 11 hectares of vines in some of the finest sites around Rust, and focuses on the Furmint grape, a variety he has been passionate about from an early age. 

Furmint was almost wiped out of existence in the 20th century when the iron curtain forced the separation of Austria and Hungary. In the 1980s Michael’s father Robert Wenzel started bringing Furmint vines across the border with a view to reintroduce it into the local winemaking culture. Today Michael cultivates 3 of the 10 hectares of Furmint planted in the country, and is widely considered to be a pioneer of this variety in Austria. The quartz, gneiss and mica schist soils of his vineyards are perfectly suited to the Furmint grape, producing structured, mineral wines. He also grows Blaukfränkisch grapes on his more calcareous sites, which yield focused, elegant expressions of this traditional Austrian variety.

This is a single vineyard Furmint by a master of this variety. A wine packing terroir into the bottle like no other. Simply fascinating wine. From the Vogelsang (meaning bird song) vineyard in the town of Rust, a mildly climbing hillside with southeast exposure. The light and stony soil, on a bed of slate and granite/gneiss shows itself of primary importance in giving the Furmint an extra bit of aromatic depth and much finesse. Natural winemaking at its finest.