Success Stories News

Austria's best red wine comes from Spitzerberg

by Astrid Rauch

15/07/2025

Dorli Muhr, Lukas Brandstätter & Anna Niepoort

That is the opinion at least of the reviewers at Robert Parker Wine Advocate. Their ratings have just been published, and the highest went to the Ried Spitzerberg-Obere Spitzer 1ÖTW 2022 vintage from Dorli Muhr winery in Austria’s eastern region of Carnuntum.

Ried Spitzerberg obere spitzer erstlage — © Herbert Lehmann

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“Enormously seductive on the nose…an almost floral fragrance, which is paired here with tart toast and tobacco spice,” wrote Stephan Reinhardt, the Robert Parker Wine Advocate critic about the Blaufränkisch from the Obere Spitzer vineyard, an 8 ha., stony and barren site on the south-western slope of Spitzerberg. Awarding it 98 points, he described the single vineyard wine as “full-bodied, silky and very elegant on the palate,” adding that it was “round” and “intense”.

98 points is the highest rating ever awarded to an Austrian red wine by Robert Parker.

Red now!

Increasingly, critics are discovering that Austria's red wines are among the best in the world. When it is grown in top sites, the native Blaufränkisch variety can hold its own with the most renowned red wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux and Piedmont. Blaufränkisch has already become a darling of wine critics and sommeliers and while it is still a select circle who celebrate this variety, their numbers are steady growing. Dorli Muhr's Blaufränkisch wines from Spitzerberg are already served in top restaurants in 24 countries. So, why are Austrian reds suddenly en vogue internationally?

Not a variety for cheap wine

“Blaufränkisch is not a common variety. High yields are not good for it, which is why Blaufränkisch is not suitable for cheap wines. The variety is at its finest and most expressive on poor soils, where each vine produces only a few grapes, but these are all the more complex and intense – while also offering plenty of freshness and light-footed elegance. The poor, calcareous Spitzerberg in the far east of Carnuntum offers ideal conditions for this variety.
The wind is also special. Spitzerberg is located in a narrow corridor between the Alps and the Carpathians. It is the westernmost foothill, and a strong wind always blows through here, which on one hand prevents disease, but on the other means there is very little rainfall. Here, the wind is part of the terroir.“
- Dorli Muhr

„The longer the wine is allowed to mature in the bottle, the more enjoyment it will bring.
We mature all our single vineyard wines for at least three years – two in the barrel and one in the bottle – before we release them from the cellar.“

Lukas Brandstätter, Winemaker

The single vineyard wines from the 2022 vintage will be released on 6 September 2025. They will be presented at the 2025 Single Vineyard Summit at Grafenegg in Lower Austria from 8-12 September:

More Information

The 2022 Blaufränkisch Ried Spitzerberg-Obere Spitzer 1ÖTW, which was awarded 98 Parker points, is now available for pre-order (delivery from 8 September 2025).

About Weingut Dorli Muhr

Dorli Muhr, who for three decades has led the internationally renowned agency Wine+Partners, founded her own estate in 2002. The heart of the estate is a 0.17 hectare parcel that her grandmother received as a wedding gift in 1918. Plot by plot, Dorli Muhr has acquired sites on the Spitzerberg with notably mature Blaufränkisch vines. She transitioned her vineyards to organic and founded a new, extra-gentle vinification method to encourage the finest, most elegant expressions of the Blaufränkisch variety. In 2019, the Spitzerberg received its Erste Lage classification by the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter.

Weingut Dorli Muhr
Kirchengasse 24
2472 Prellenkirchen

Weingut Dorli Muhr

Astrid Rauch

Head of Media Relations

Strength, discipline, endurance, and precision — the qualities that earned Astrid three black belts in Taekwondo also define her daily work in communications. After many years in journalism, she has key industry contacts on speed dial and knows exactly where our clients’ great stories will find the best home. She effortlessly connects brands with the right media and — whether it’s PR strategy, press relations, or events — Astrid turns ideas into success. In short: media runs in her veins.

a.rauch@wine-partners.at