Umathum Burgenland Rosa 2023

You think you know rosé. Pale, pretty, easy. Then you taste this, and suddenly you're rethinking everything.

Rosa is made by Josef "Pepi" Umathum, one of Austria's most respected producers, working in the Burgenland region near Lake Neusiedl. The lake is a strange, shallow thing, the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, which means water flows in but never out. It's saline, barely a metre deep on average, and its wild fluctuations create a unique microclimate where migratory birds and some of Austria's best wine thrive.

This is a pretty cool, serious rosé made from Austria's holy trinity: Blaufränkisch, Sankt Laurent, and Zweigelt, from mature, biodynamically farmed vines on gravel and schist soils. It's a saignée, bled off after brief skin contact and aged in stainless steel. Raspberry, cherry, and this unexpected, almost medicinal complexity that lingers. Savoury, structured. Chill it deeply. Drink it with grilled sausages or schnitzel.