As in their wine selection, there are many different personalities and characters among the extended MAD family.
Their common past reveals their strengths, preferences, and the varying characteristics of their wines: lively, gentle, flattering or spirited.
There was something to celebrate in 2019: a mild winter was followed by a cold spring and an even hotter summer. The harvest produced outstanding quality wines under ideal conditions. Tobias was also able to toast his 30th birthday. Through and through: an exceptional vintage.
2018 was a superlative year for wine growing. Very hot, very large quantities, very good qualities. The reds from 2018 were particularly convincing with their deep, dark fruit, ripeness, spiciness, and aromas. This was also the year that Tobias and Sebastian took over the winery. A vintage that will be remembered for two reasons.
One of the coldest Januarys was followed by a very warm March. Early bud break and late frost in May demanded a lot from the winegrowers. The major efforts put forth in the winegrowing and winemaking season were soon forgotten as “Augenweide” Christian’s youngest “Trakehner” mare, was born in Christian’s stable during the Spring. Not only she, but also the outstanding quality of this vintage made 2017 an unforgettable year.
The 2016 vintage proved to be slightly unpredictable somewhat like the youngest member of the MAD family, Frederik – – turbulent and fun, like a rollercoaster ride.
The sunshine of our family has the winegrowing gene in his blood. As such he is interested in all the machines and equipment, especially tractors.
Sometime in the future, he will be able to enjoy good to very good qualities in white, red and sweet wines, from his birth year. Precise wines with fine fruit and moderate alcohol charcterise 2016.
An exceptional year. An unremarkable winter and spring were followed by an extremely hot summer and a beautiful autumn with lots of sun and cool nights. Perfect conditions for a great vintage. The premium wines from 2015 are outstanding with enormous storage potential and incredible fruit, elegance, and ripeness.
A difficult year for the MADs as winemakers, a wonderful year as a family. While the weather in 2014 was anything but perfect, a lot of precipitation, low temperatures, a rainy autumn. However, in our private lives, the sun shone: Barbara and Sebastian said, “I do”.
With a big harvesting effort and great vineyard management, stringent, crisp wines could nevertheless be pressed, which have made 2014 a joyful memory in both respects.
Tobias’ interests are as contrasting as 1989 was a wine year:
On the one hand, he loves being on the road and among people, on the other hand, he likes the quiet work outside and alone in the natural environment of our vineyards.
In 1989, early budding was followed by delayed flowering, a rather rainy summer, and a cool early autumn. Finally, a glorious Indian summer made for optimal harvest weather. Despite mostly moderate primary ripeness, there were piquant and healthy wines as well as remarkable sweet wines. Tobias, a music lover, likes to enjoy these with fine sounds or rock songs, depending on his mood.
For Sebastian, a man of pleasure, 1986 is just the right birth year: a great year for red wine. However, it’s better to avoid the passionate hobby cook when he’s hungry. He is technically adept and interested and enjoys talking to people over a good glass of wine.
1986 gave the wines an optimal acid structure with a pronounced varietal bouquet and high extract content. With low yields, this year also produced excellent ice wines.
Whether her husband Sebastian cooks for her or dining in one of the many fine restaurants in the region, the great animal lover loves to enjoy herself.
The wines from 1982 are also easy to digest and enjoy. With 490 million litres of wine, this year produced the largest quantity in Austria’s history to date. There were no great growths, but wines that were easy to drink.
The landlady with heart and soul can resist sweets about as much as her grandchild Frederik. Her birth year was not exactly a sweet one, especially in the summer. Up until early summer, the weather was fine with intermittent light rain. However, very high precipitation combined with cold temperatures hampered development in July and August. With very few exceptions, the grapes were harvested in top condition at the beginning of October. Qualitatively, this vintage showed good sugar values, but the low acidity had a negative effect. Therefore, the winegrowing year can only be classified as mediocre.
Christian lives for wine and for his horses. Driving through the beautiful vineyards in the sunshine is one of his great passions. Unfortunately, the year 1964 was not quite so sunny. After a favourable blossom and a good grape crop, the harvest was hampered by persistent heavy rainfall. Nevertheless, most of the wines were of very good quality and storable.
She loves to take care of Frederik and her dog Gizi and is available around the clock. She is deliberate, level-headed, and calm. In contrast to Rafaela, the winter of 1963 was severe and lasted a long time. Thus, pruning could only take place in April, followed by a long dry period from July onwards. At the end of August, the berry formation increased due to rain, and grape rot was an undesirable side effect in some places. Due to a later harvesting time and good weather, high quality was achieved. A good to very good vintage with a must weight of 42 degrees (KMW). Outstanding sweet wines will be remembered.
He is the “foreign minister” of the family. Always on the move, he is on the road a lot and loves to laugh. In 1961, however, the winegrowers had little to laugh about. Early pruning due to the mild winter was followed by a beautiful bud break. From May onwards, it was cold and rainy, and the grape buds regressed, damaging the grapes severely. From August onwards, a dry period set in, which lasted until harvest time. Due to the lack of water, the vines could not take advantage of the late autumn sun. This year in general, the wines showed little acidity.
As the senior boss, Maria does not let herself be deprived of her daily glass of wine. And she is always willing to help out at the “Herzi”. Curious and talkative, she likes to chat with the guests at the Herztröpferl. When it comes to wine, not much can be said about the year of her birth, 1943. A War year:
The vines were still cultivated in stock culture, viticulture was very laborious. According to the statistics the average yield was 25.1 hl/ha. Interestingly, it was the best winegrowing year during the war.
He is still a passionate driver of cars and tractors. As a retired landlord, he likes to enjoy food, but always in small portions. He knows almost every detail about the MAD facilities. Less detailed is the information on Willi’s 1942 vintage, also a War year: a difficult wine year with little yield. The small harvest was around 13.5 hectolitres per hectare. But Willi is a friend of small quantities 😉