2011 Jagini Blaufränkisch Zagersdorf
Regular price $56.00
It’s rare that we get to try well-aged versions of Austria’s greatest red variety, blaufränkisch, especially from old vines and two of the country’s top producers. But here you have it! Jagini is a collaboration between Austrian wine superstars Roland Velich of Moric and Hannes Schuster of Rosi Schuster. Schuster means shoemaker in German, and jagini is an old dialect word for shoemaker - so a pair of shoe(maker)s, as it were. The organically-farmed vineyard is part of the Shuster estate in Zagersdorf, in Burgenland, west of Lake Neusiedl. Soils are clay and loam on top of limestone, and vine age ranges from half a century to a century. This is simply a great site for blaufränkisch. Indigenous fermentation was in open wooden vats. Aging was in used, untoasted Austrian and German oak barrels for about four years, followed by more years in bottle before release.
Dark cherry and berry fruit with medicinal herbs and a whiff of forest-y earthiness. It's decidedly youthful for a 12-year old wine, yet with emerging tertiary flavor complexity. The tannins are moderate and the acidity vibrant. 13% alcohol. This wine opens up with air. Decantation an hour or two before drinking is a good idea (and also would remove the to-be-expected sediment in a wine of this age). Drink it in a large stem and not too quickly, as it will evolve and gain complexity and expressiveness over hours or even a couple of days. Drink it with grilled meats or a hearty minestrone di cavolo (cabbage). Alternatively, you can continue to age it for 5-10 years.