2015 Blaufrankisch Neckenmarkter Alte Reben

The 2015 Neckenmarkt Alte Reben is still a bit reductive and vegetal on the nose but pure, fresh, intense and truly slatey, with some coconut, blackcurrant and dark cherry aromas. Attention: this is wild and spicy! On the palate, it is lush, intense and powerful but silky, fine and elegant. This is a long distance runner with lingering salinity and mineral tension as well as great finesse and elegance. This will probably be the last Neckenmarkter from these plots whose grapes have been harvested and processed by the cooperative again since 2016; this is a serious loss for Austria's wine culture. No Neckenmarkter produced in the past 15 years has been better than those from Roland Velich, who started producing his Old Vines in 2002. Tasted August 2018.