From Rust with Love with the Queen of Ausbruch

Heidi Schröck & Söhne - From Rust with Love.

After an intense day of tastings and training during the first year S1 Masters of Wine seminar on January 15, we had a special evening with winery tours and small group visits in the medieval town of Rust.

We entered the winery of Heidi Schröck & Söhne through a large wooden door with cinematographic sounds and down little wooden steps. There, in front of some 2100L stainless steel tanks, we met Georg, who welcomed us with a big smile. "From here you can see the whole winery," he told us. Two rooms, one with the 225L barrels and the foudres, and the other with the stainless steel tanks. He added: "Ask anything you want and when you are ready we can go up to taste."

We walked up into the house and gathered around the beautiful wooden table where Heidi was waiting for us. We sat down just as a family would and were treated to an amazing wine tasting, including a vertical tasting of Ausbruch, and even Georg's homemade bread. You could already taste the excitement of what was to come.

We can't believe how lucky we are. Walking through time and vintages with their creators is not something you do without treasuring it in your mind and under your skin. Besides, as we were approaching Heidi's house, the captivating director of the Weinacademie, Mr Dr Josef Schuller MW, had whispered in my ear: "She is the queen of Ausbruch!"

And now we are sitting at the table with Queen Heidi, her son Georg, a great group of wine people, about to taste all their wines lined up on the table.

Heidi has been making wine since 1983, following what her ancestors started 300 years ago. Now, as for several vintages, her sons Georg and Johannes have joined the family tradition. How many wineries can truly say this? : "We do it for love. Small company, big aspirations. Take it or leave it & that’s how we are. Progress and continuity. Everything we do today in our winery is based on this & we believe you can sense it in our wines."

And indeed we can!

Botrytis wines are the result of nature and climate, and sometimes they cannot even be made again for 10 years. Ausbruch wines are made from vines by Lake Neusiedlersee in the town of Rust in Burgenland, Austria. Although the DAC status dates from 2020, the historic appellation has existed since the 16th century.

Ausbruch exists only in Austria, and lies between an Austrian Beerenauslese and a Trockenbeerenauslese in required sugar levels, around 156° Oechsle (minimum of 30°KMW). Almost all Ausbruchs have between 200-300 grams per liter of residual sugar.

Heidi, Georg and Johannes work 10 ha of Welschriesling, Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder, Furmint, Gelber Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and St. Laurent.

Ruster Ausbruch is Heidi's favourite wine, selected from the best parcels of white varieties, but especially from Welschriesling and Furmint, created only in the best vintages.

Ausbruch has a very strict wine law. At harvest they measure the amount and degrees of sugar to get to 8-9% abv and can come back the next day to check how many liters you have. A year in Rust is not always good for all styles of wine. Usually, if it's good for reds, it's not so good for sweet wines. But in 2004 and 2006 it was good for all styles.

Let's start the tasting!

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1. Endel Weiss 2022 Hárslevelü 13% abv

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A very special collaboration with a trendy London wine bar in Covent Garden, The 10 cases. This collaboration started with Alex, who has just launched a new place in Waterloo: Lower Bottle.

Hárslevelú means linden leaf, in reference to the dried flower aroma and a slight reminiscence of muscatel, 48h skin maceration. Fermentation and ageing in stainless tank.

Perfect phenolic grip with a spicy touch. Golden yellow in colour, and an experiment they say! If only all experiments were like this one! Amazing texture, savoury balance, dry white wine that wakes you up (or that you would like to wake up with!)

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2.Furmint Auslese 2015

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The sweetness starts! Only special years like 2015, with a late harvest in October and when the warm Föhn wind came later on and dried the large berries of Furmint bunches. That’s the magic of Botrytis, like the magic of Love, it happens when it happens.

The beautiful label gives you ideas to pair it with. No limit for an imaginative mind.

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3.Beenrenauslese 2021 Welschriesling & Weissburgunder & Chardonnay 11% abv

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"The Picker is the most important person for making these wines" said Heidi. Only 7% in the area are picked by machine, meaning most is picked by hand.

Here are some of my tasting references: less acidic than Tokaji, crisper than Sauternes, less alcohol than both, less vivid than BA from Germany.

This BA was fermented and matured in 225L barrels.

I had written in my notes: spicy peach from Mars, dried flowers, menthol.

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4.Ruster Ausbruch 2021 On the Wings of Dawn – Welschriesling 11% abv

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Medium gold colour and amber rim. Aromas of honey and quince. Of course, hand selected, only botrytis grapes and fermented in 225L barrels. Filtered and bottled after 2 years in barrel.

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5.Ruster Ausbruch 2006 Schröck & Kracher – Welschriesling 10% abv

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Medium amber. Orange peel, fig, smoke. Pleasant phenolic bitterness, fresh and white pepper.

The elegant floral aromas suggest the possibility of acacia barrel. (This is my mind trying to get ready for the practical exams!)

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6.Ruster Ausbruch 2005 Turner – Furmint 10.5 % abv

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Deep amber. Exclusive single vineyard from Furmint (Turner is the name of the vineyard) fermented and matured in new oak barrels for 2 years.

Big party of coffee-like aromas, smoky, baked fig and saffron.

Heidi likes to go with the pickers and make them taste a grape before they start picking, she knows they won’t forget it when they’re picking the right ones.

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7.Ruster Ausbruch 2004 On the Wings of Dawn – Welschriesling & Weissburgunder 9.5% abv.

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Deeper amber color. “On the wings of dawn” the name of this Ausbruch, is a quote from Psalm 139.

It tastes drier and it looks younger, but it is 20 years old! Dried apricot, tension, and aromas of brown sugar. "Not the classic style" says Heidi. I find it vibrant. As you can see already, in Rust they don’t make the same wines every year, and the magic happens occasionally, in different shapes and forms.

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8. Anthologie – Best of 9 Summers 10% abv

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Back to deep gold colour. A blend from the vintages 2014 to 2022. Vibrant aromas of ripe lemon peel, soft sweetness and waxy texture. A great sweet wine and refreshing culmination of the night.  On the side label, they wrote: OUR WINES OPEN DOORS.

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From Rust with love. Dynamic, authentic and vibrant are the wines of Heidi Schröck & Söhne!

Thank you very much for your hospitality, and thanks to the Weinakademie and to the Institute MW. I will keep this memory forever and I will taste your wines every time I can, as I recommend you to do so!

We didn't get to meet Johannes this time, but we felt all the hard work and love of the whole family wine adventure and great teamwork.

To follow along and learn more about Heidi Shröck & Söhne : www.heidi-schroeck.com and here on IG: @schrockheidi

Try their wines as soon as you can!

Tenerife with Carlos Delgado: Let’s be captivated by the wines!

Article dedicated to the master phrases of the tasting of 6 wines from Tenerife by Carlos Delgado at Gastronomika SS 2023, on Monday 9th of October.

Who doesn't know Carlos Delgado? Writer, journalist and critic for 'El Pais' since the end of the eighties. He always leaves his mark, and that is because he is passionate, close, generous in his knowledge and has seen a lot in the world of wine, and he is already back from everything. That gives him an absolute frankness and honesty. A tasting with him makes you fall in love with the world of wine all over again.

And now let's go to his master phrases, one after the other, as I wrote them down, to make you fall in love again, with wine, with Tenerife, and with Carlos Delgado.

Let 's be captivated by the wines!

Let's not decipher the wines!

The orchard of ashes! It is the spirit of the tasting.

The life that rises from the inert, from the disaster.

Tenerife is the largest island, with the highest peak. Its vineyards range from 0 to 1700m of altitude.

Its viticulture is heroic. And the fact that a vine grows there is a heroic deed of the Canary Islanders.

There are many types of Picon 'the ash', from the northern slope, from the south, from below…

Its thin layer absorbs and fixes the humidity. There are black, red, gray, with more or less sand.

The Canary Islands are home to the largest phylloxera-free area in the world. You only have to taste Listán Blanco and Palomino Fino from the peninsula to see the differences in tasting.

There are more than 80 grape varieties in the Canary Islands, many of which are native and only found in the Canary Islands.

If you want to learn more about the varieties here:https://www.canarywine.com/variedades/ 

And here the wines that captivated us:

Tajinaste blanco ecológico 2022: DOP Islas Canarias. Listán Blanco and Albillo. 2 months in French and American oak barrels. We start with the smoke of the volcano in the glass, an expression of the terroir and the marked acidity as a common thread. Brioche, orange, toasted hints.

Testamento Malvasia aromática 2021: DO Abona. Single varietal of the aromatic Malvasia. Fermentation in American and French oak. 3 months on lees. This wine has a lot to offer, aroma, texture, body, tension and length. Passion fruit, roasted pineapple, spices and cinnamon.

Brumas de Ayosa 100% Marmajuelo 2022: DO Valle de Güímar. Here came Carlos' best phrase during the tasting, telling us how to "not taste" like the professionals, with an advanced reprimand full of affection: Let it soak! Don't make a big deal or noise out of the tasting.

Yes, he was referring to that little noise "professionally speaking", to oxygenate and centrifuge the wine in the mouth: the arch-feared bubbling noise of the wine!

What a great wine, an eternal freshness, lemon, melon, and pure electricity between the teeth.

Suertes del Marques Vidueño 2021: DO. Valle de la Orotava. Hold on, there's a huge curve coming (with the varieties of this wine): Malvasia rosada, Negramoll, Vijariego negro, Baboso negro, Listan negro, Tintilla, Castellana negra, Albillo criollo, Gual, Verdello … and more! Reaching up to 20! What extreme elegance and we also had Jonatan Garcia Lima seated behind us. Orotava Valley full of violets, vintage leather jacket, and with Pinot Noir soul. And each master has his own recipe book and Jonatan really knows how to make great wines.

Envínate Benje 2022: DO Ycoden-Daute-Isora. Listan negro and Listan prieto. A very wild and crazy wine. 30% stems pecking the nose, indigenous yeasts in freedom, 8 months in used Burgundy barrels. Unfined, unfiltered and with a minimal dose of SO2. A wine that can give more around a table, than at a quick pim-pam tasting. I will come back to taste you!

Magma de Cráter 2019: Bodegas Crater. DO Tacoronte Acentejo. Negramoll (90%) and Syrah (10%). Biodynamic. Mamma Mia! What a well placed aroma and what a chinese ink in texture and color. Raspberry and chocolate notes, Sacher cake everywhere. Lots of freshness. Silky double-layered texture, blackberries, cherries and a sweetish finish.

Two other masterful phrases:

Retired and tourists do not consume Tenerife (in Tenerife). Neither the light trend, without sugar or alcohol.

Let's take advantage of these great wines from the Spanish wine region with the best future in quality and profitability.

Big hurrah Tenerife and the Canary Islands! Big hurrah Carlos Delgado! And big hurrah Gastronómika!

One thing is clear to me, I am landing in Tenerife this year. It's on my list.

Honorable mention for my gastronomic-festive battle companions: Amaya and Lore! Two brilliant women and professionals in a tasting also with its own brilliance.

‘Falling Blue’ from David Phinney at Mövenpick Vins

The new wine of the year at Mövenpick Vins! An absolute hit! This wine is by Dave Phinney of Orin Swift cellars, an American in Maury, France, in the Côtes Catalanes!  Yes, the same one who created the wine 'Prisoner' of Napa and put a 'black painting' of Goya on its label. Olé!

'Falling Blue" Wine of the Year 2023, Mövenpick Vins

‘Falling Blue', in the line of his well-known wine 'D66' (homage to Department 66), has a lot of strength and concentration, violets, blueberries, plums, chocolate and a certain sweetness typical of such hot climates. 'Falling Blue' can remind us of a blackberry-picking summer stroll, with an invigorating acidity and an air of adventure.

Unlike 'D66' (with more Syrah than Grenache), in 'Falling Blue' Grenache is the queen: 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, 15 months in barrel, with an alcohol content of 15,5% and you don't even see it coming! A very gastronomic and pleasant wine at a price accessible to all: 23,80 CHF for this great wine! Only one thing, it is only available at Mövenpick Switzerland and Mövenpick Germany.

We stopped by the Cellier Mövenpick Crissier, where David and his wonderful team welcomed us with a big tasting like in the great old days! Always a pleasure!

With the great David Berthet from Cellier Mövenpick Crissier

'Falling Blue' more info Here.

Surprise records by “cognac” Fundador

¡Surprise records! What is this marvel? A total surprise! Look what you can find in the best record shops, in this case, in Dientes Largos  in Pamplona, Navarra, at the 45th Jarauta Street, run by the wonderful Kike Crespo! The surprise records are special editions of 7" vinyl records that were given as gifts by Bodegas Domecq, especially for Christmas, to their customers who bought the "cognac" Fundador. Yes, of course, today it's called brandy, but in those days it was called cognac! Be aware! Once again, grapes and music high five! The campaign started in 1962 and lasted until 1973 and a catalogue of more than 250 7" records was published, some of which had prizes engraved on the record! You could win a car or a TV, a record player, beauty products, or watches. If you got the prize on the record, you had to show up with it at Bodegas Domecq to exchange it for your prize! A little bit like Willy Wonka with the golden ticket - marvellous!   If you find out a surprise record, you are in front of one the most analogue and historical ways of beverage marketing through music.  Certainly a way a lot more fun than creating algorithmic campaigns on facebook and co. Ouh Yeah! Somewhat-real-rhythmic campaigns are much better!

A good start…

The tasting on Friday 27 January 2023 at the Gazteluleku gastronomic society in Pamplona was unforgettable. The Gazteluleku tasting group has been meeting for almost 30 years (once a month) to taste and enjoy our hobby, first a tasting and then a dinner of brotherhood.

Entrance to Gazteluleku, photo by Miguel Osés

It is always difficult to find all wines to be at a great level, and it is normal to disappointed by some. But what happened at the end of January was memorable! We tasted five great wines that have been outstanding and above the average of what we are used to. 1.- Château Pichon Longueville 2015 Comtesse de Lalande Gran Cru Classée. Pauillac

• Intense colour
• Spectacular, powerful bouquet: spices blend with the wood and ripe red fruits. Very balanced.
• Harmonious, intense and long on the palate. Liquorice, tobacco, cocoa and blackberries. Atlantic wine.
• A success to be the first one to taste, without disappointing the great previous expectations. Justified its points and its very good reputation, with life ahead of it.

Since 2007 Champagne Roederer is the owner. Wine grapes composition: C.S 68%, Merlot 29%, C.F. 2%, Petit Verdot 1%. Planting density 10.000 vines/ 89 Has. of 40 years old vines. 18/20 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. 96 Parker points.

2.- LUCE 2015, Tenuta  Luce. Toscana

There is a lot of talk about terroir, a vineyard planted in the middle of nowhere among stones does not produce the same wines as other much more exuberant areas. LUCE shows it both on the nose and on the palate. Think Tuscan lifestyle. That's Luce but in wine form.

• Good colour, the layer is a little less than the previous one.
• Opulent nose, black cherry, blackcurrant, leather and pipe tobacco.
• A Mediterranean wine on the palate with good integrated alcohol, with an aftertaste that lingers for quite some time in the retronasal. You will get green pepper, pepper, blackberries, herbaceous notes...

Owner Frescobaldi. Tuscany. Varieties: 50% Merlot, 50% Sangiovesse. 94 Parker points .

3.- AMARONE DellaValpolicella 2017 Classico Allegrini

• A different wine, made from raisined grapes.
• Deep black layer
• Opulent aroma where you can appreciate the fruit and the well-integrated sweetness.
• In the mouth, it is an explosion of ripe fruit, spicy with good acidity.
• A wine to remember

Ownership: Allegrini. Grape varieties: Corvina, Rondinella and Oseleta. The bunches are left to raisin under cover for ¾ months, which means a weight loss of about 40%.

4.- Altura Maxima Salta 2011 Malbec Argentina

• Possibly the best Argentinian wine.
• Very full of colour.
• Aroma where the rustic and the primary are in line, and impresses with its length.
• An unforgettable mouth, where the rusticity rises to high levels, for its roundness, balance and good passage.
• A wine that most of us did not know and has left an unforgettable memory.

Owner, the couple Hess, from Swiss origin: Colomé Winery. Variety 100% Malbec. Vineyard at an altitude of 2.500m. In Calayate, Calchaqui Valley. In the extreme North West of Argentina. 5.-Chateau la Negly, L´Ancely, Languedoc La Clape 2011

• Languedoc continues to surprise us.
• A good layer, but less intense than the previous ones.
• Fresh aroma of fruit (kirsch, cassis), well integrated and vibrant.
• In the mouth it is harmonious, fresh, pleasant, easier to drink than the previous ones. But with a gratifying passage with flavours of chocolate and spices.

Grape varieties: 70% Monastrell, 20% Grenache and 10% Syrah. Aged in 1500l. casks. 93 Parker points.

Corks, in perfect condition

Unusual high scores, but reflecting the enormous quality of all the wines, and the exceptionality of this selection, which ended to unanimous applause.

The dinner, which in this exceptional case, was a Friday lunch, was a real highlight. Carried out by Carlos Velázquez and Carlos Marañon.

The appetizer An unusual starter. On toasted brioche, a salted butter cream with marrow (recovered from the second course), with a little grated Grana Padano, black pepper and grated truffle on top. A delightful accompaniment to a good rosé wine of Petit Verdot from Ciudad Real. The starter Carbonara is a humble, shepherds' dish. And as a humble dish, it is usually simple and easy to prepare. With two basic premises. One, it has to be finished practically at the moment we are going to eat it. Two, no cream, it is totally forbidden. The ingredients are easy to find and, as a good Italian dish, simple to make. A good pasta, quality eggs of which we will only use the yolks, a good smoked bacon with abundant white streak and extra virgin olive oil. The bacon is poached in extra virgin olive oil to obtain a fat that is deeply flavoured with smoke, and the hot cooked pasta is poured over it to mix it with the fat and give it flavour. Grated Granna Padano cheese and a little of the cooking water are then added until the whole is juicy. Plate by plate, serve as much as you like and break two egg yolks on each plate, stirring again. This simple little trick is what gives the carbonara its unctuousness and delicious flavour. To close the dish, and as we were at a truffle-themed meal, we grated black truffle on top and closed the dish with some thin slices of the same bacon which, with the heat of the pasta, sweat and remain transparent on the plate. The second dish To celebrate the fact that this weekend, the last weekend in January, Peralta is celebrating the 3rd Thistle Day (Thistle or Cardoon, a source of health), we take Julie Andrieu's hand and go to Lyon, on the banks of the Rhône, to prepare the flagship dish of the Brotherhood of the Cardon de Vaulx de Velin, Gratin de Cardons, also known as Cardons à la Lyonnaise. The traditional recipe is prepared with a butter roux to which is added a broth made from vegetables and cane bones. The marrow in this case has been used as an appetizer, and a good portion of grated truffle has been added instead when mixing the sauce with the cardoon. Emmental cheese for the gratin and, when presenting the hot dish, truffle slices on top. Dessert For dessert, the famous La Viña cheesecake, with a good portion of cream cheese, cream and eggs, accompanied by a scoop of cream ice cream. Inside the tart, the remains of the truffle used throughout the meal (80 g of Tuber melanosporum nabarra). Conclusion To make gifts, to arrange flowers, to improve the decoration of a room, to make the most of your clothes, you have to have art. Everything fits together for some hidden reason. That ulterior motive is beauty. When there is emotion in front of something, beauty is present. In this first meeting of 2023 it was a meeting with art, art because all the wines, all of them displayed an outstanding level. Art because the truffle dishes had just the right amount of truffle and were splendidly executed. And art because the comments from all the attendees were splendid. It was a day very difficult to forget and to repeat, because art is not found every day, it is not felt every day and this first meeting in January was simply art. An exercise in art. A very good atmosphere, caused by the great satisfaction of a good drink and a good meal. It was the homage we needed to forget for a while all the problems of everyday life. The combination of the above with a good company of friends produced in all of us a great enjoyment. In essence a good start ...to 2023, which we don't know what it will bring.

Carlos Velázquez, Carlos Marañon, Juan Narvaiza y Ricardo Guelbenzu