Judith Beck 'Beck Ink' 2019

A family business Judith Beck inherited the estate from her father after having trained at the well known Bordeaux château Cos d'Estournel. Modest in size the estate has grown from 5 to 15 hectares over the years and from 2007 Judith has been producing her wines in accordance with biodynamic principles. The winery is housed in an impressive airy new building in the middle of the vineyards near the town of Gols in the far south east of the country close to the Hungarian border.

While the winemaking methods here border on a 'natural wine' approach the emphasis is on refined, understated style which captures the potential of the grapes. The traditional Austrian red grapes Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent are two of the varieties that she's particularly passionate about. While she is an impressively calm, and quite laid back person with a sense of relaxation seems to transmit itself into her wines, which possess a lightness of touch not always apparent in this region she, nevertheless, has an eye for detail and is a stickler for thoroughness.

The biodynamic approach they use makes the most of the holistic curative quakities of nature and aims at strengthening the natural resistance of the vines. "We encourage the formation of humus, as a basis of healthy soils, by regularly applying cattle manure which we prepare ourselves and by cultivating grass between the vine rows. Herbal teas and biodynamic field sprays such as horn manure and horn silica are used in synchrony with the rhythm of the moon. Te object being to strengthen resistance and maximize the ripeness of the grapes." The overall objective is to produce authentic wines with genuine individuality while at the same time maintaining healthy soil and vines.