<table align="right" valign="top"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/userpix/70_hajosikekfrankos_1.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr></table>Kékfrankos, known in neighboring Austria as Blaufränkisch and perhaps most commonly in the U.S. as Lemberger, is one of my all-time favourite red vinifera grapes. I love the reliable white-pepper spice and meaty aromas that it produces, as well as the lively, firm acidity and the good bit of grippy tannin that it also displays. It is a grape that I think could be ideally suited to the Niagara Peninsula, though its presence there is very slight - in large part, perhaps, because of the issue that's frequently made of Germanic grape names and the purported marketability of the resulting wines. Zweigelt does have perhaps more of a presence than Blaufränkisch in Ontario, however, and it is a grape that has impressed me time and again in our local versions. Even one from Prince Edward County near Kingston that I tried last summer was just fabulous, although over there the winery actually has to lay the vines down each winter.
This Hungarian Kékfrankos spent a whopping year-and-a-half in oak, though you would hardly guess it given the very subtle oak spice that was imparted. I very much doubt that the barrels were new!
13% alc/vol. Clear, dark garnet with a ruby tinge. Complex, spicy nose with lots of Blaufränkisch white-pepper/beef-consommé notes atop some well-integrated though very subtle clove-like oak spice. Tart and brisk on the entry with powerful acidity, a lithe texture and pleasantly grippy tannins. Light- to medium-bodied on the mid-palate with a long seam of acidity and flavours that carry across the palate, including the integrated light oak spice. Fully dry and invigorating - very much like a tart Baco Noir on the palate. Definitely a wine that requires food and that cleanses the palate.
$12.95 at Vintages.