Heinrich Roter Traminer Freyheit 2022

Weingut Heinrich is one of Austria's leading natural producers, and this single-variety wine is made from Roter Traminer, the pink-skinned, aromatic member of the Traminer family. The fruit grows on the eastern Kollern slope in the Leitha Mountains at Breitenbrunn, on soils of fossil-rich calcareous sandstone and eroded shale that lend the wine its mineral, savoury frame. Harvest is by hand at the end of August, and fermentation runs on native yeasts. The must then macerates on its skins for nineteen days, a long contact time that extracts colour, phenolic structure and the grape's perfumed aromatics, while the pink skins push the wine well past the colour of an ordinary white. Ageing in wood adds a slow, controlled exposure to oxygen that softens the texture and builds a dried, savoury character. The colour is deep amber. The nose carries dried apricot, orange peel, rose and ginger, and the palate is dry and textured, with honey, dried herbs and a firm tannic grip carried to an earthy finish. Serve at 12 to 14 degrees, ideally decanted. Good with roast pork, herbed chicken and hard cheeses.