2020 Ruländer

This is something we first tried years ago as a visit only treat. Never thought we'd ever get our hands on it. Rülander is what their grandfather preferred to call the grape instead of Grauburgunder or Pinot Gris. The story is that a man named Mr. Rüland arrived from Germany hundreds of years ago and introduced the grape to the region. Erich and Michael have been making this skin macerated version since 2006. Hand picked, 5 days of maceration followed by 9 months in barrel. Bottled unfiltered and with zero additions of any kind. Due to their farming there’s plenty of ripeness, but the alcohol and acidity (9 g/l!) bring remarkable balance. This is a completely different animal than the Ramatos from Italy/Slovenia or the more volcanic skin versions coming from the Mátra. This is also usually bottled after flowering, but Michael had an injury and bottling had to be pushed to late June. The wine got a little wild in barrel and Erich referred to it as “L'enfant terrible.” It has since calmed down in bottle thanks in part to our broken supply chain.