Grey Freedom - 2021

The 2021 Graue Freyheit natural wine from Gernot Heinrich

The 2021 Graue Freyheit from Gernot Heinrich is one of the Burgenland orange wines, spontaneously fermented and bottled in clay without the addition of sulfur. Not a soft, approachable Pinot Gris, but a tightly structured natural wine with vibrant freshness, dark tea notes, and palpable minerality.

Graue Freyheit 2021 is a skin-fermented orange wine from the Gernot Heinrich winery in Gols, in Austria's Burgenland region, a blend of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and a small portion of Neuburger. Slate and quartz slate at the Jois Hackelsberg vineyard nurture the gray varietals, while the Breitenbrunn Edelgraben and Winden Alte Berg sites provide the lighter partners. It remains agile, not least because of its moderate 12.5 percent alcohol content.

Black tea, red berries, and a firm tension

Of the three vintages, this one feels the coolest, as the Chardonnay is given more room here than in any other year of the series.

Rosehip and red berries make their presence known first, followed by a dark, almost tannic tea spice. On the palate, there is a vibrant freshness that keeps the wine moving and prevents it from ever feeling sluggish. Underneath lies the texture that only comes from prolonged contact with the skins.

The minerality is more distinct here than in the previous vintage, which suits the slate of the Hackelsberg well. The tannin remains fine-grained and coats the tongue like a cloth rather than presenting as a harsh edge. In a larger glass, the rosehip emerges more clearly, while the black tea recedes slightly.

Weeks on the skins and the mild transformation of acid

The harvest took place between the beginning and middle of September 2021, later than in the other two years of this series.

The grapes spent two weeks on the skins, spontaneously fermenting, before the basket press separated the juice from the solids. Afterward, lactic acid bacteria took hold of the malic acid and converted it into softer lactic acid, completely without cellar intervention. The creamy quality beneath the freshness is entirely due to this transformation.

Thirteen months on the natural lees followed, divided between clay amphorae and a large, seasoned oak barrel. This is the shortest aging period of the series, and it shows in the tautness. Bottling followed in mid-November 2022, unfiltered and without the addition of sulfur.

What this vintage calls to the plate

Sautéed mushrooms with plenty of butter seek a wine with tannin, and they find exactly that in this bottle, without losing their earthy tranquility.

A pumpkin risotto picks up the tea spice and becomes clearer rather than heavier. A Wiener Schnitzel with lemon also demands this firm tension; otherwise, the breadcrumbs would stand alone on the plate. Cellar temperature is the right choice here, so the spice can actually open up.

If you would like to compare the three vintages side by side, reach for the Graue Freyheit Vertical, in which every bottle is represented once. You can find the rest of the assortment from Gols at Weingut Gernot Heinrich, and if the broader range entices you, our wine collection awaits with everything else on the shelf.

Graue Freyheit – a natural wine and its values

• Origin: Natural wine from Austria
• Region: Burgenland
• Grape varieties: 35% Pinot Blanc, 30% Pinot Gris,
  30% Chardonnay, 5% Neuburger
• Demeter certified
• Respekt biodyn wine
• vegan
• 12.5% Vol. alcohol
• 6.3 g/l acidity
• 1.0 g/l residual sugar

Organic control body AT-BIO-402 – Austrian Agriculture