Franz Weninger – Fehérburgundi – Pinot Blanc from Hungary
The Franz Weninger Fehérburgundi 2021 is an organic white wine made from Pinot Blanc grapes, grown on the Hungarian side of Lake Neusiedl. The vines are planted in parabrown soil with deposits of weathered bedrock.
On the nose, a delicate fragrance of wildflowers and meadow herbs draws you in close to the glass. This is then joined by aromas of yellow apple and pear, framed by citrus zest, lime, citron, grapefruit, green walnut, and a hint of bacon-like smokiness appearing in the background. In the glass, it invites you to take your first sip with its brilliant straw-yellow hue. On the palate, the Weninger Fehérburgundi displays an animating juiciness, fresh acidity, and a chalky minerality, even a touch of salinity. This natural wine, given some time in a large Burgundy glass, fills the room with complex aromas, a hint of lactic phenolics, and creamy spontaneous fermentation notes. It is a good thing Franz didn't simply name his Fehérburgundi "Pinot Blanc," because that allows you to expect something extraordinary—which is exactly what you get.
Franz Weninger – Winemaking
The Pinot Blanc grapes for this wine come from the Frettner site, which is part of Weninger's estate on the Hungarian side of the border in Sopron. It is a cool, northwest-facing vineyard that benefits from afternoon shade from the edge of the forest and cool winds from Lake Neusiedl at night. Its calcareous soils impart a cool minerality to the Pinot Blanc. 5,400 vines are trained using the Guyot system per hectare, competing for water and nutrients, which encourages deep root growth. The 23-year-old vines are situated at an altitude of 204 meters, in a Pannonian climate shaped by the large, shallow lake.
Petra and Franz Weninger cultivate the vineyards of the Weninger estate organically and biodynamically, and they are Respekt-certified. The Pinot Blanc grapes were selectively harvested by hand in September 2021. After harvest, the grapes remained on the skins in large wooden vats for 10 days before being gently pressed and spontaneously fermented. The Fehérburgundi matured for 11 months in large wooden barrels on its own lees, underwent natural malolactic fermentation, and was bottled unfiltered in August 2022, resulting in 10,200 bottles.
Fehérburgundi – A wine and its values
- 100% Fehérburgundi (Pinot Blanc)
- 12.0% ABV alcohol
- 6.3 g/l acidity
- 1.0 g/l residual sugar
Organic inspection body BIO-AT-402 – EU Agriculture