Tucked away to the eastern side of Mittelburgenland, right next to the Hungarian border, we find the village of Deutschkreutz. It is here in this characteristic town that true magic happens! Get carried away with Gesellman’s vision of past, present and future throughout these truly authentic wines!
The appellation of Burgenland can be found to the southeast of Vienna, touching the border with Hungary. Apart from the general appellation the region can be broken down into 5 different appellations or DAC’s (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) such as Neusiedlersee DAC, Leithaberg DAC, Mittelburgenland DAC, Rosalia DAC and Eisenberg DAC. Burgenland is the hottest wine region of Austria, where red varieties are dominating the vines.
With the proximity of the Pannonian plane to the east we do find a continental climate that features hot summers and cold winters. But the summertime and the total amount of sunshine-hours can almost feel Mediterranean like. Yet still the continentality and the cooler nights will ensure the elegance and natural acidity of the grapes that are typical for the region, such as St.Laurent, Zweigelt and of course Blaufränkisch! This is especially the case for Mittelburgenland, where the red varieties can ripen healthy each year due to the Pannonian warmth, and the mist in the morning will help cool down the grapes.
The Gesellmann family has established the winery many centuries ago and has passed on its internal knowledge from generation to generation, with each next one redefining and reinventing the family’s traditions and vision of winemaking. When Albert Gesellmann took over from his father Engelbert, he wanted to find a true and pure expression of both the used grape varieties, vintage and the terroir, reflecting within each drop of wine. In order of achieving that, the grapes and the vines must remain as healthy as possible. Working organically is an essential way in doing so. The family has chosen to work fully organically since 2011 for all its wines. This applies mostly to the white wines, as this has been the case for the red wines for many years before. Having a pioneer’s role on this part in all of Deutschkreutz, this way of winemaking has been established in order to pass on a healthy earth to future generations and not only because organic is ‘in fashion’. All of these factors add up to the philosophy that each wine is unique and that it always will be a combination of the grape variety, the terroir, climate, environment and how the winemaker handles the whole process. According to Albert a true high-quality wine can never be copied, but will always be its own unique character, as it should be. This has led Albert to choose to work with mostly indigenous varieties, with of course Blaufränkisch as a main character.
Discussing only a selection of the Gesellmann wines starting with the Creitzer Reserve and the Vom Lehm which can be viewed as the entry level of Blaufränkisch. However, the term ‘entry level’ needs to be taking very loosely here, as these wines are already from a very high quality. The Creitzer expresses a lively acidity with very ripe tannins, while the Vom Lehm will touch more on the earthy tones and rounder aromas in the nose, but again with a lively acidity. The Hochberc wine coming from the like-named vineyard in the southwest, where the Blaufränkisch grape will ripen on a top layer of sandy loam, leading to a wine expressing succulent spiced red fruit aromas, subtle influence of oak (500 l barrels are used) and a very long aftertaste. The flagship of Opus Eximium used to contain some Cabernet Sauvignon but has been focused on a characterful blend of Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent and Zweigelt for the last 25 years now. This results in a very earthy wine with beautiful smokiness and herbaceous notes, again with very ripe tannins. The age of the vines reaches up to 90 years, which can be tasted beautifully in the concentration of the different characters. Lastly, the ‘G’ 2020 with a 95% of Blaufränkisch and a 5% of St. Laurent will display a beautiful overflow of balance in the notes of purple fruit, spices, minerals and milk chocolate.
Even though some of the wines from this selection are a bit higher in alcohol (some up to 14%), this is not perceived when tasting. The common thread will always be the lively acidity, along with a higher number of tannins, but fully ripened though. That way the tannins do add to the overall complexity and are not perceived as unpleasant. All the grapes are handpicked and spontaneously fermented, with long skin contact and malolactic fermentation, ensuring further craftmanship!
Gesellmann is not only known for its beautiful elegant red wines but also features different whites and even a rosé. Although not particularly sampled on this occasion, when you are looking at the climate and soil types, it is perfectly imaginable that the Sauvignon Blanc and the Chardonnay are of exceptional quality as well. Especially the Chardonnay, giving the experience Albert Gesellmann gained when working with this grape in both Stellenbosch in South-Africa and California in the States.
You can find all the datasheets of each of these beautiful wines and many more on the Gesellmann website: https://www.gesellmann.at/
The Gesellmann family continues to be pioneers in Mittelburgenland in general and Deutschkreutz in specific with the highest respect to the unique expression of the interaction between the grape variety, terroir and the actions of the winemaker. All with sustainable and organic farming in mind. This knowledge and know-how will be passed on to the future generation and this has already been set into motion! The children of Abert and his wife Silvia Gesellman, daughter Francesca and son Konstantin have already completed their viticultural studies and are gaining experience in the field to make their future mark on the Austrian wine industry!
Gesellmann: Creating characterful wines, reflecting vintage, terroir and region, passed on through generations.
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