To say that the Prielers’ 2006 Blaufrankisch Goldberg – harvested October 17, and to be released late this year or early in 2010 – displays an iron grip seems both literally and figuratively true. If you cannot imagine calling this “mineral,” it is unlikely you will ever let that word pass your lips in a wine description. Graphite, iron filings, machine oil, crushed stone ... all seem to be in here in a way that reminds me of some Roussillon reds. Black-fruits, toasted nuts, bitter herbs, and a greenhouse-like expression of foliage and flowers are present as well, to be sure, and the thought of a Loire Cabernet Franc on steroids also occurs to me. But while this is enormously intense and energetic wine, it is not at all alcoholically outsized – indeed, even as it warms up in the glass one has no sense of heat – and its 100% new barrique has been embraced without noticeable traces. The depth, finesse, minerality, and sheer length of finish here seal its claim to greatness. Expect this Goldberg to want 3-5 years’ cellaring on release, and to be worth following for at least twenty. Early vintages – 1994 for example – taste superb now. And those did not benefit from the weather or the know-how that inform this 2006. The quality of 2006 for Burgenland’s premier red variety fully merited the late bottling practiced by Prielers, with the result that I have still not tasted from bottle three that were still in cask until last September.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300