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, epitomises 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 as one of the coolest places to make wine and natural production is flourishing. Many of the wines have gotten pretty pricy but Judith maintains her position as making some of the best value wines in the area.
What they say about Beck wines.....
'If you do not live among the vines according to your postal address, but actually live among the vines like Judith Beck, you develop a deep relationship with your own vineyards. Naturalness and identity are therefore the characteristics that Judith Beck wants to see and show in all of her wines. Her wines are therefore natural, truthful, genuine and, above all, authentic in the best sense of the word. Always more reserved than loud. Always worth a second look.'
Adam –
Starting with the good things, we eventually got to tropical fruits (mango, pineapple) with some ripe citrus (maybe pink grapefruit) and a lick of creaminess. But there was a real hit (and I mean REAL) of struck-match (which I think is a sign of reduction, correct me if I’m wrong). Now, I like that struck-match thing…but this overwhelmed the wine for me. It tailed away a little by aerating, but it was still pretty dominant.