Why it matters
The producer
Weingut Umathum is a Frauenkirchen estate whose 30 hectares are weighted toward Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. Those three Austrian red grapes account for roughly 85% of the vines, so the dry red wines provide the centre of the range, while Pinot Noir and sweet Scheurebe broaden it at either end.
The family had grown vines for generations within a mixed farm and sold grapes to cooperatives until the late 1970s. The present estate therefore carries two kinds of work in its bottles: local red varieties in the vineyard, then a cellar built around large wooden casks rather than a line-up of small new barrels.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Umathum farms on both sides of Lake Neusiedl. That spread takes the estate beyond a single patch of ground and supports bottles named for vineyards as well as varietal wines such as Zweigelt and St. Laurent. Frauenkirchen remains the home address; the range moves outward from there across the lake’s varied vineyard ground.
For the dry Zweigelt, the Haideboden area east of Lake Neusiedl supplies the fruit. Its dry, well-drained mix of humus, gravel and loam sits behind a wine that keeps 12.5% alcohol while carrying dark fruit, pepper and fresh acidity.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Umathum began working biodynamically in 2005, following Rudolf Steiner’s principles, without seeking official certification. Grapes are hand-harvested so mature, healthy fruit reaches the cellar intact; that selection comes before fermentation and helps determine the fruit available for a dry red or a sweet wine.
Large wooden casks are a central cellar tool. In the 2022 Zweigelt, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel was followed by a year in old, large Viennese oak. Old, large wood has a gentler imprint than small new barrels, leaving the wine’s cherry fruit, pepper and acidity ahead of overt oak flavour.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range begins with dry reds from Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch, then narrows into named-vineyard wines from places including Hallebühl, Vom Stein and Kirschgarten. Zweigelt 2022 is a dry, 100% Zweigelt at 12.5% alcohol, with 1.2g/L residual sugar and 5.2g/L acidity: a red built for fruit, body and freshness rather than sweetness.
Unter den Terrassen Pinot Noir 2021 is a separate red expression from marl and slate, with 13.5% alcohol, 5.3g/L acidity and 1g/L residual sugar. At the other end of the range, Beerenauslese 2022 is Scheurebe in a 375ml bottle: sweet at 153.6g/L residual sugar, yet carried by 6.8g/L acidity and only 9.5% alcohol.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Begin with Zweigelt 2022. It is the estate’s core red grape in a dry, 100% varietal bottle, made from Haideboden fruit and matured for a year in old large oak after stainless-steel fermentation. The wine is full-bodied and rounded, with dark cherry and sour-cherry fruit, peppery spice and 5.2g/L acidity. It introduces the grape that occupies much of Umathum’s vineyard area before the range turns to named parcels, Pinot Noir or sweet Scheurebe.