St. Laurent SCHAFLEITEN Judith Beck 2017

St Laurent SCHAFLEITEN Judith Beck 2017, biodynamic wine, 100% St. Laurent, the Pinot Noir of Austria, smooth, elegant and fresh red with delicious berry aromas. Schafleiten vineyard is located on the gravelly plateau called Parndorfer Platte. It has very good drainage, which is important for grape varieties with thin skins. St. Laurent is a very special grape, characterized by complex aromas, pronounced acidity and low alcohol. These grapes are handpicked, de-stemmed with a big percentage of whole berries, natural fermentation in wooden vats, maceration of 2-3 weeks, 12-15 months of ageing in old acacia wood casks. The fine is fine, elegant, layered with notes of summer berries, and secondary flavours with a long finish.

The Judith Beck winery is a 15 hectare estate in Gols in Austria's Burgenland. They have been farming biodynamically since 2007.  The aim to respect the environment and produce the best quality grapes they can.  They use native Austrian varieties and some international grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc.

Judith Beck studied abroad at places like Cos d'Estournel in Bordeaux and Errazuriz in Chile.  She returned home to take over the winery from her father and moved in the direction of natural winemaking.  In the vineyard they encourage the formation of humus as a basis of healthy soils.  They use their own natural composts and cultivate grass between the rows. Herbal remedies are also used and the vines are maintained following the rhythms of the moon and biodynamic calender.  They don't use  any inoculated yeasts of any kind, they minimise sulphur, fining and filtration. The Bambule range which is all zero sulphur and certified biodynamic, epitomising this philosophy.

These methods and ideas are what we look for at Buon Vino and the wines are really delicious.  They are fresh, drinkable and also great value for money.  The Burgenland is now firmly planted in the world of wine as one of  the coolest places to make wine and natural production is flourishing.  Many of the wines are pretty pricy and Judith Beck maintains her position as making some of the best value wines in the area.