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

The 2005 Blaufrankisch Goldberg displays formidable black fruit intensity, bitterness of cherry pit, smoky, peat like aromas and flavors, and a beef bouillon-like salty, meaty undertone. Clean, lean, and a bit youthfully severe, this year’s version of Goldberg will need a couple of years in the bottle as usual, although whether it will be a candidate for aging past 5-7 years is dubious. The Goldberg benefitted from its exposure to wind and distance from the lake. Ironically, it was in vintage 2004 when stress on these vines resulted in less than perfect ripeness, and the Prielers decided to declassify the wine. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300