Austrian Reds-Where to begin?

[K_N_Haque]

Thanks for the note on the Batonnage. I had never heard of it. Seems like it is a project of five Burgenland vintners to create a cult wine.

[Phil_T_r_o_t_t_e_r]

Thanks for the note on the Batonnage. I had never heard of it. Seems like it is a project of five Burgenland vintners to create a cult wine.

If it’s the same one, we had touched on it in a previous topic:

Austrian Reds?

When I looked into it then, I was surprised by this approach to pick some of the Blaufränkisch overripe. Which would mean that this is not a Bordeaux blend per say.

[K_N_Haque]

Thanks for the note on the Batonnage. I had never heard of it. Seems like it is a project of five Burgenland vintners to create a cult wine.

If it’s the same one, we had touched on it in a previous topic:
Austrian Reds? - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
When I looked into it then, I was surprised by this approach to pick some of the Blaufränkisch overripe. Which would mean that this is not a Bordeaux blend per say.

Thanks for the reminder (you even quoted me from another post in that post)! I agree, not a Bdx blend with blaufränkisch in it.

[Brent_S]

Yes, I meant to say it was a Bordeaux blend with some Austrian grapes added. I did include that in my cellar tracker note. Waitress mentioned it’s impossible to find and really wanted us to buy it as she was hoping we would let her try it, which we did!

[IlkkaL]

I have not tried the Batonnage but based on NoTrollingerPlease’s TN on the 2013 it seems like a wine that could have well been my first and last Austrian red simultaneously had someone served it to me back in the day. Actually it sounds like many reds they make in Hungary to try to impress American wine critics, i.e. a wine that is really is nothing like the typical local red wines.

[Gerhard_P]

As we stayed at the same hotel for 7 nights, the waitress kept mentioning the Batonnage wine, which is a Bordeaux blend. They had the 2012 and 2015. Falstaff rated the 2015 100 points but she recommended the 2012. She decanted it for a few hours. It was very unique and happy to have the opportunity to try it, although this was not a typical Austrian wine:

2012 The Wild Boys of Club Batonnage - CellarTracker

I´ve had the Batonnage several times, incl. 2015 (I don´t think 2012) …
Yes, one can mistake it for an excellent Bordeaux if you don´t pick out some Blaufränkisch notes, I first (blind) thought it to be something like Leoville-Poyferré, then switched to Top-Austrian blend … objectively (if there is something like that) a mid-90ies wine … quite modern, concentrated, impressive (and too youthful for me) … but: it´s 120-130 € here if you can find it … and for that price I can also get an outstanding “real” Bordeaux …
so usually nothing for me, but I have one bottle in the cellar nevertheless …

[Brent_S]

Well, same hotel had 1982 Palmer for $100 euro more and that was more enjoyable……

[Gerhard_P]

Well, same hotel had 1982 Palmer for $100 euro more and that was more enjoyable……

Sure - fully mature!

[Nathan_Smyth]

If you can find anybody who makes a ham & potatoes & cheese casserole

Is there anybody who can’t make one of those?

At these up-scale resorts, the problem is going to be finding a restaurant with the strength of character necessary to cook & serve classical peasant food recipes [which is to say, food which actually TASTES GOOD].

They all think they need to create these deconstructionist post-modernist faux-food [rat poison?] transient art works for supermodels with anorexia & bulimia.

BLECCH!!!
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[Nathan_Smyth]

MMM MMMM GOOD…
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[Nathan_Smyth]

however I´ve not tasted Hill-1 yet…

I guess I should warn you that lately my approach to wine doesn’t align very well with most of what I read here at WB; I seem to be keying into structure & form & synesthesia, whereas almost everyone here seems to be obsessed with flavor.

I’d mention bouquet, but nowadays most young wines no longer seem to come with bouquets.

As I was saying above, the 2015 Hill-1 was the singularly most fascinating red wine I’ve tried in the last decade, and it left me with the impression of a winemaker having put an enormous amount of forethought into the crafting of the wine - or else some bozo getting incredibly lucky in randomly crafting a wine of such outstanding structural precision - but it felt like forethought to me.

Lots of forethought.

Anyway, if you get a chance, then give the 2015 Hill-1 a try; follow a bottle for several days, and see whether it doesn’t turn into something fascinating, circa late on Day 2, or early on Day 3.