Joiseph - Tannenberg 2021

(Burgenland, Austria)

'This wine is no longer about the grape variety itself, but more about how the soil conveys itself through it.' 

Adequate words from winemaker Luka Zeichmann when talking about this single-vineyard wine made from the Zweigelt variety. On this site, the vines go pretty much straight into schist rock with hardly any topsoil on top. As a result the wine is always tense and tight with a saline backbone but even more so in this cold and challenging vintage. 

This is as micro-production as it gets. In 2019, the three rows of vines that they farm on this site yielded enough grapes to produce only 300 bottles. The wine is currently blooming, showing beautiful roundness, intense spiciness and black forest fruits galore. 

Joiseph is a collaboration between three friends that started with the 2015 vintage and has grown from a tiny hectare to nearly five hectares. The wines across the range are distinct, wildly exciting, and full of energy.