MORIC 2001-2015 - among the best wines in the world

I had the great luck to meet the austrian winemaker Roland Velich this week at the highly respected wine-shop Wein&Glas in Berlin. There is no doubt that the Blaufränkisch red wines by Roland Velich are among the best wines in the world. All the wines are marked by elegance&freshness&finesse + clarity&precision and aging potential. And the whites are such radical pure.

It seems the aged wines are still available at Winemonger, I strongly recommend to buy the wines from 2007&2009 for example. Pricey, but worth every penny.

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Winemaker Roland Velich


„Roland Velich hat sich zum erklärten Ziel gesetzt, der Sorte Blaufränkisch ein neues, eigenständiges Profil zu verleihen, das es möglich macht, diese typisch österreichische Rebsorte in eine Reihe mit den großen Rotweinen der Welt zu stellen. Velich sieht im Burgenland ähnlich hervorragende Bedingungen, um großartige Rotweine zu machen wie im Burgund oder nördlichen Rhônetal. Dabei strebt er keine stilistischen Kopien an, sondern es ist der »cool climate«-Charakter, den er in seinen Weinen darstellen will. Velich geht es also um Originale und nicht um Kopien, er vertraut ganz auf die Stärken des Burgenlandes und versucht, das ganze Potenzial der Sorte Blaufränkisch und der unterschiedlichen Böden zu nutzen. Roland Velich fand die entsprechenden Parzellen für sein Konzept zunächst im Mittelburgenland. In Neckenmarkt und Lutzmannsburg entdeckte er uralte Weingärten, manche Stöcke haben über hundert Jahre auf dem Buckel und stehen in großer Pflanzdichte von bis zu 8000 Reben pro Hektar. Hier wachsen in idealer Exposition und auf bestens geeignetem Terroir jene kleinbeerigen Trauben, welche die Basis für die beiden Top-Weine der Moric-Linie bilden, die den Namen »Alte Reben« tragen. So entsteht der feine, von floralen Nuancen geprägte mineralische Wein aus Lutzmannsburg; aus der Nachbargemeinde Neckenmarkt kommt ein würziger, vom Schieferboden dunkel gefärbter Blaufränkisch der Extraklasse. Kleine Erträge im Weingarten und extrem zurückhaltende Verarbeitung sowie ein langer Ausbau in gebrauchten 500- und 1000-Liter-Holzfässern lassen den speziellen Sorten- und Bodencharakter der einzelnen Terroirs besonders in den Vordergrund treten. Aus St. Georgen bei Eisenstadt kommt auch in kleiner Menge ein finessenreicher Grünen Veltliner.“ FALSTAFF
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2015 Hausmarke weiss
A Cuvée of Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay. In 2015 an ironic reference to the Orange Wine-Hype. And indeed you will taste a touch of Orange Wine. Difficult to judge, as such young.


2013 Hausmarke weiss
Firm, clear, austere and spicy. Flavors of dried flowers. Quite nice I have to say.


2013 Sankt Georgen GV
Thankfully here we have a Grüner Veltliner which is not a fruit monster. Instead quite austere and cool in the glass. Impressive minerality&acid structure, herb spiceness and grapefruite flavors. 92/100

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2011 Sankt Georgen GV
WOW……what a minerality, acidity, herbs, dried flowers and freshness from the shell limestone. Reminds me rather on the white from the North-Rhone with these flavors, stilistic and elegance. No ounce fat. 93/100


2015 Blaufränkisch Burgenland barrel-sample
Fine clear fruit. Of course quite fruit driven at this stage. On the other hand a noticeable refinement&elegance is already in the background. Oh la la……the 2015s will be fantastic.


2013 Blaufränkisch Burgenland
Impressive mineral with flavors of cherry, juniper and floral notes.


2013 Moric Reserve
Very promising.


2009 Moric Reserve
Wonderful seductive juice. Such charming and velvety on the palate. Blackberry, spice, sous-bois, truffle, nougat and floral notes. Perfect to drink right NOW. 92/100


2013 Neckenmarkt AR
Still too young. Cool and mineral and marked by schist.


2013 Lutzmannsburg AR
Very meaty at the beginning, but the elegance is coming in the 2nd and 3rd sip. Spice, a basket of dark fruits and finesse all over.
92+/100


2011 Neckenmarkt AR
Juniper all over. Great length&complexity and such elegant. Juicy fruit, but also such clear and precise even in a rather hot vintage. 93-94+/100


2011 Lutzmannsburg AR
At the beginning too big for my taste. But developped nicely in the glass and the minerality comes through.
93-94+/100


2009 Neckenmarkt AR
“39-82 year old vines grow among 9 parcels, 75% slate, 20% limestone and 5% loam soils. 25 hl/ha, 19-23 days maceration, spontaneous fermentation in wooden fermenters, 20 months elevage in 500 liter casks; unfined, unfiltered.”

Wonderful with flavors of plum, spce, mineral and perfect with jugged hare.

2009 Lutzmannsburg AR
Much more elegant that Neckenmarkt. Everything fits together with its structure&length&depth. Very tight structure and flavors of cherry, licorice, sous-bois, spice, mineral and balance. 95+/100

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2007 Lutzmannsburg AR Magnum

" 49-90+ year old vines in deep layers of sand, clay and loam above volcanic rock. 27 hl/ha yield. 20-22 days maceration, spontaneous fermentation in open wooden vats and fermenters. 20 months elevage in 500-liter casks, no fining, no filtration."

Wine of the Day. Really an outstanding great great wine. Perfect combination of all and with a burgundy-like elegance. WOW WOW WOW 96-97/100


2006 Neckenmarkt AR
Quite good and balsamic.


2003 Lutzmannsburg AR
too big. Not my cup of wine. Hot, hot vintage.


2001 Lutzmannsburg AR
Debut wine of Roland Velich. Nice to drink, a bit too much oak according to several experts like Stuart Pigott. He, come on……all beginnings are difficult.


Cheers,
Martin

Well, Martin,

There is no doubt that the Blaufränkisch red wines of Roland Velich are among the best wines in the world. <<

kudos to your enthusiasm … but c´mon …
I like Velich, I think he is an excellent winemaker, one of the best red-wine-makers in Austria … … he is even among the very best (2-3) Blaufränkisch-producers (if you apprechiate the strong and modern style) … but (as we say) please leave the church in the town … [whistle.gif]

among the best wines in the world

(???) [snort.gif]

… sorry, that might only be true if you count app. 1000 “best wines” worldwide … [wink.gif]

(and I have not yet considered the ageability of Blaufränkisch “generally” against other noble varieties … which means that I doubt a bit that Blaufränkisch is among the very best red varieties in the world … compared to Pinot noir, CS, Merlot, Grenache, Nebbiolo etc.
It´s a fine grape, typical for Austrian´s Eastern vineyards, very useful for colourful, intense, slightly rustic wines with noticable acidity and excellent grip …
but …
(you know …)
[highfive.gif]

Of course Gerhard, my judgement/opinion is subjective and as always my notes are enthusiasm driven.

On the other hand, when serious journalists like David Schildknecht&Stephan Reinhardt also praise these wines with very high scores why can´t they be among the best wines in the world?! In addition I have no doubt about the aging potential.

Gerhard,

I know a bit Moric wines, but not many other Blaufraenkisch producers. I usually associate “modern style” with bold fruit, high concentration, possibly oak, which doesn’t fit at all with what I have experienced with Moric, which I would rather associate his wines with finesse and elegance. Since I know you have a lot more experience with Blaufraenkisch than me, I’m curious to understand what you meant by the statement that he represents a “strong and modern style”.


Ageability: I recently had a Neckenmarkter AR 2002 and was still young.

Great write up. Makes me want to try them. Then I saw that they’re $130 for the Alte Reben and I said, no thanks. Anyone in DC want to split a bottle to try?

Ageability: I recently had a Neckenmarkter AR 2002 and was still young.<<

I don´t doubt that - still young.

My concerns regarding ageability are for Blaufränkisch in general, not reg. Moric, he makes wonderful BF.
I have tasted BF as old as 25 years and even older (and many between 1989/90 and 2002) … and my impression is that it holds very well … until a certain point when the acidity comes more and more in the foreground, but I´m still missing the typical tertiaer components of a well aged red (French) wine, be it a Bordeaux, Burgundy or Rhone wine … BF imho doesn´t change and evolve into something (much) more interesting and more complex - at least not to a degree I´m longing for … even such great wines as E.T.s Mariental …
I haven´t had any Moric before 2004, so maybe I´m wrong reg. his wines … we´ll see in 12-15 years - but I really think BF is better for drinking in the 1st 10/12 to 15 years …

I’m curious to understand what you meant by the statement that he represents a “strong and modern style”.<<

Moric´wines (BF) are very concentrated and intense in (berry) fruit, with noticable acidity, but not with a strong tannic structure (I assume the grapes are destemmed completely). That´s what give me the impression of “modern” - even if he doesn´t use any new wood (I´m not sure about that).
Yes, one can call them elegant …

Cool post, love reading about a wine that I knew nothing about. Thanks.

Well said. I subscribe 100%. The best ones can hold well for quite a while, but don’t necessarily undergo any kind of magical transformation into anything resembling the kind of complexity that most of us associate with greatness at maturity.
I think that remains my provisional position on the “greatness” of BF, too. Until, of course, I am proven wrong :slight_smile:
(And it’s not that I don’t get the attraction, far from it. I have also been tempted on occasion to call Uwe Schiefer’s reds from the last ten or so years “great”… Although perhaps not quite in the sense of “some of the best red wines in the world” :slight_smile: )

Martin, great report! Photos add the perfect seasoning to this post.

Rosi Schuster is another producer lighting it up!

Best,

Kenney

Moric are cool, geeky wines IMO.

They are the Truchot of Blaufränkisch IMO.

…I have some that are 10+ years old - will pull one to see how it is doing.

-mark