A wine of the moment: Great fruit, lively energy, modest alcohol, soft tannins. Think of it as a Germanic take on great Cru Beaujolais!

Carnuntum is situated between Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia. The tiny, 1,000-hectare region skirts the northern tip of Burgenland. The area takes its name from a Roman city, the ruins of which are strewn about the Danube River’s shoreline. Hot summers, tempered by cold winters are the results of two major geographical confluences: the Pannonian plain and Carpathian mountains along the Slovakian border and the temperature-regulating Danube River and Lake Neusiedl.

Glatzer is a family operation, headlined by Walter Glatzer and his children, Matias and Hanna. They organically farm an impressive 50 hectares of vines in Carnuntum, focusing primarily on red wines from Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch.

Fermentations are started in stainless steel tanks before being moved into large, used, Austrian oak barrels. There’s a gentle extraction via light punch-downs during fermentation to maximize aromatics but to avoid extreme tannin and phenolics. There’s a wonderful wild fruit component in the wine that presents itself as fresh and juicy.

Blaufränkisch tends to skew lighter in body even though it has a fairly plump texture and lots of juicy fruit. Unlike grapes such as, say, Sangiovese, the acidity is not piercing or sharp but is undoubtedly present—the wine manages to have lively energy but soft contours at the same time. The color is deeply concentrated but less purple-leaning than that of Zweigelt, and the aroma/flavor profile offers up lots of spicy, meaty, turned-earth notes along with saturated black fruits. A pleasure to drink—great with burgers or BBQ.