Joiseph, Piroska 2022

Producer: Joiseph
Region: Burgenland, Austria
Varietals: Zweigelt & Pinot Noir
Viticulture: Sustainable
Category: Red Wine
Size: 750ml

Harvested normally a bit early, this joyous, delicate red flaunts a finely wound structure, herbal with a bright strawberry treble and deep cassis bass note, all supported by a rocky minerality. It’s a blend: normally Zweigelt and Pinot Noir with the remainder being just a “gemistcher satz” that is mostly Blaufränkisch. This is “chilled red” perfection.

Joiseph; a new-ish estate founded in 2015 by three friends (Luka Zeichmann, Richard Artner and Xandl Kagl). It started with a tiny vineyard in the village of Jois (thus the name, a playful personification of the village). Joiseph has grown quietly, slowly, and it has quietly become the talk of Burgenland. They produced only miniscule amounts of wine in 2015 (with only about a hectare under vine); it was mostly drank by other Austrian winemakers and people started talking. Here is an estate with elements of nearly everything the Burgenland has offered: aromatic complexity, stature and polish, clarity, as well as a buoyant energy, a certain soil-focus. And while the wines seem to have a card from every deck, they also have an ace: lightness. The wines are, hands down, the most ethereal, delicate wines I’ve ever had from the Burgenland.