2003 Blaufränkisch Ungerberg

Paul Achs understands like no other vintner from Gols how to express vintage character clearly.To allow the character of the year to come through, Gols has been producing wines with significantly lower alcohol levels than those of his colleagues in recent years, with his work in the vineyard focused on getting perfectly ripe grapes as early as possible.His wines present themselves with greater elegance and are easier to drink, but not at the expense of complexity of aromas. Not surprisingly, his clients have come to expect subtlety rather than power from this vintner.In the 2003 vintage, Achs has crafted a trio of fascinating single-vineyard blaufrankisch bottlings (he is one of the top addresses in Austria for this variety, as well as for pinot noir).His fruity sauvignon blanc makes a wonderful aperitif, and his oaked white wines such as chardonnay and the Pannobile blend are food-compatible wines capable of bottle aging.

Prompted by numerous impressive bottles that had come my way over the past several years, I visited this address, where behind a traditional facade on a quiet street stands another of Burgenland's numerous new, spacious, dramatically designed cellars. Achs' 51 acres are planted almost entirely to red varieties, although this should not be taken by consumers as a license to ignore his often very good whites. Pinot Noir, with which he has scored significant success, was first planted at the estate in 1989, "but not in our best sites," explains Achs, "because those would be too warm. " That said, in 2003, Achs found himself picking pinot on August 21. (Vin Divino, Chicago, IL) Also recommended: 2001 Chardonnay Alte Reben, 2003 Blaufrankisch Spiegel.