2019 Tschida 'Felsen II' Syrah

Place: Burgenland, AUT

Variety: Syrah

Farming: Organic

Christian Tschida cultivates 10 hectares of old vines in the Neusiedlersee region of Burgenland. His vineyards are planted on sandy gravel, schist, and limestone soils and have been in the family for 4 generations. This area of Burgenland has a unique microclimate due to the moderating influence of the vast Lake Neusiedlersee nearby.

Christian has a very hands off approach in his vineyards, preferring to let nature take its course. His wild looking parcels are instantly recognisable - overgrown with cover crops that both preserve biodiversity in the vineyards and force the vines to bury their roots deep into the soils in search of nutrients.

30 year old vines of Syrah grown on exposed pebble stones. Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 2 years aging in 1200-liter barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and a no addition of sulfur. Very northern Rhone feeling.