Michael Wenzel Furmint Stockkultur 2022

The Furmint variety, well-known in its country of origin (Hungary), but a rarity in Austria with only 10 hectares cultivated. Michael Wenzel is the most renowned winemaker for his dry white wines made from this grape. This Stockkultur - or something like "Cultivation on Stakes" in German - is the third and last wine in the sequence of dry furmints of the "Native" line with the image of a tendril on the label.

The grapes come from a single vineyard, called Garten Eden (Eden´s Garden), characterised by its high content of red quartz in the soil, planted in 2007 after a mass selection of "old furmint", which gives looser bunches and smaller grapes compared to current plantings. But the most curious thing about this vineyard is Michael Wenzel's study on the cultivation of vines individually tied to acacia stakes to encourage them to grow upwards towards the sun. It seems that this is how the locals of Tokaj, the birthplace of this variety, used to cultivate furmint vineyards in the past, and it has been found to be applied with excellent results in sunny Burgenland, Wenzel's homeland.

Winemaking notes: gentle pressing, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, ageing for 14 months on lees in neutral oak. Handcrafted production of small productions, with a lot of care and no additives.

It is the maximum expression of Wenzel's furmint, which exudes energy, character and vitality. Liquid mineral, but loaded with the typicality of this variety.