Moric Reserve 2021

The Moric Reserve 2021 is a dry Blaufränkisch from Burgenland that draws its concentration from old vines and favours freshness over sheer power. In the glass it shows a brilliant purple with blue highlights and great density. It is demanding, it invigorates, and it fully expresses the cool vintage. 13.5% vol.

Roland Velich cultivates 22.5 hectares in Lutzmannsburg and Neckenmarkt. In Lutzmannsburg, the vines are rooted in a prehistoric volcano, whose iron-rich soils give the Blaufränkisch its minerality. The individual vineyard sites differ markedly: from the steep, limestone Kirchberg to the Schwemmer, all the way to the clay-rich plateau of the Maissner. Many vines are 50 to 110 years old and yield tiny quantities.

Pure Blaufränkisch, spontaneously fermented in open wooden vats, 22 days of maceration, followed by 20 months of ageing on fine lees in large, used wood. Neither fined nor filtered. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically.

Juicy from the very first sip, the fruit crisp like biting into a handful of fresh berries: sour cherry, blackberry and elderberry, rounded out by blackcurrant and mulberry. Above that, spice from juniper and black pepper, warm leather and liquorice, pistachio, dark chocolate with mint, plus damp forest floor and pine needles. The texture stays silky and elegant, while the wine remains taut and astringent with fine-grained tannin.

Braised leg of lamb, saddle of venison and hearty mushroom ragout.

Roland Velich, formerly a ski instructor and croupier, struck out on his own path with Moric in 2001. In 2023, Falstaff named him Winemaker of the Year. With the Jagini project, he rescued the last old Blaufränkisch vines in Zagersdorf.