The 2006 Spitzerberg follows a pattern of picking and vinifying the best parcels in two lots: one riper, without de-stemming; the other less ripe, de-stemmed, and given extended maceration. The overall impression here again combines intense black fruits (elderberry, mulberry, blackberry), Szechaun pepper, and pungent herbs familiar from other wines at this address, but now with a deeper core of flavors, the wine’s sassy brightness and sheer energy here harnessed to carnal and mineral complexities and generating a memorably palate-staining, savory finish. I would not hesitate to cellar this with the expectation that it will be worth following for a decade. The Dorli Muhr - Dirk Niepoort collaboration about which I wrote in issue 177 has resulted in a pair of 2006 wines that definitively demonstrate – if there were still doubt – the potential of Blaufrankisch in the once-celebrated Spitzerberg , just south of the Danube and near the Hungarian frontier. It’s easy both in the glass and in the vineyard to comprehend Niepoort’s tendency to see these wines as Burgundian in inspiration. “What makes Blaufrankisch great here is the lightness and elegance of it,” he asserts, “but I don’t claim that it tastes similar to Pinot Noir.” The property Muhr and Niepoort are developing on the Spitzerberg included young parcels of Syrah and Merlot, yielding surprisingly impressive raw materials, whose 2006 marriage – dubbed Rote Erde – I have not yet tasted.Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400