The self-styled village wine 2003 Blaufrankisch Neckenmarkter combines blackberry and cooked strawberry with brown spices and high-toned cherry pit and almond esters in the nose, then comes to the palate astonishingly juicy and crunchy for this torrid vintage, combining a creamy texture and leesy adjuncts with clear, pure black fruit and a chalky mineral finishing character. A 2003 Blaufrankisch Neckenmark Alte Reben was done in a higher percentage of new wood than Velich would normally want and was not really revealing its old vines depth for now. Rolland Velich is no longer working with his brother Heinz at the family estate in Apetlon, but is pursuing his own dream, working with old vines in the heart of “Blaufrankisch country” – Mittelburgenland, specifically Lutzmannsburg and Neckenmark. (Only his winery is located in Grosshoflein.) His are wines in a style you will not encounter anywhere else in Austria: Blaufrankisch vinified as if it were Grand Cru Burgundy, and from hillsides (including terraces) and pre-clonal vines the like of which you will not find being cultivated in most of Mittelburgenland. One sip is an Oz experience (and I don’t mean Aussie, mates!). From his dreams, to his vines, to his vinification, to his retro label, Velich is in a world of his own. He calls his project “Blaufrankisch Unplugged” (and Moric – the derivation of which I shall explain another time – is pronounced like “Moritz”).Importer pending.