The joy of unkempt vines - Meinklang Graupert '15

Create a 2,000 hectare farm on marshlands that used to be part of Austria's biggest lake, let your Pinot Grigio vineyard run wild without any pruning, harvest, then ferment in concrete eggs with the skins for three weeks.

Almost every week, Simon selects an orange wine (a white wine made with extended skin contact) that grabbed his attention. View the whole series here.   

It sounds pretty nuts: Create a 2,000 hectare farm on marshlands that used to be part of Austria's biggest lake, let your Pinot Grigio vineyard run wild without any pruning, harvest, then ferment in concrete eggs with the skins for three weeks. That's exactly how biodynamic estate Meinklang produced this delicious bottle. The name "Graupert" is a nice pun on the grape variety (Grauburgunder in German) and old Burgenland slang for someone a bit scruffy.

Anyone who's ever nurtured a vine in their backgarden will know just how out of control vines can get. But Meinklang willingly decided to let the Graupert vineyard do its worst. They say that the result is a reduced harvest of smaller but more plentiful grapes, with a fantastic concentration of fruit and aromas. I certainly wouldn't disagree with the second bit. Graupert 2015 is seriousl…