2021 Roka Blaufrankisch

Bottle number 188 of 1,200. Regeneratively farmed vineyards (full, year-round, grass and native herbs cover crop with no mowing or ploughing) and minimal-intervention winemaking. Very low added sulphites. Screwcap. Tight fruit that zip-wires from fresh blackberries or candied strawberries. A touch of dark-dried-beef meatiness, so typical of the Austrian Blaufränkisch found just a stone's throw over the border, but here it's more subtle, more graceful, less hunky. A wine with a slow, cool heartbeat of minerality and tannins with the gentle rasp of a kitten's tongue. A cloud of fragrantly fresh black pepper on the finish. Very young, but very, very exciting. (TC)