WINE OF THE WEEK: Lentsch Zweigelt 2022, Burgenland, Austria

£10, Waitrose

Among several good reasons for trying this wine is that it’s excellent value. Another is that it’s an opportunity to try something different if you’re not familiar with Austria's Zweigelt grape variety or with Austrian red wines in general.

The best reason, though, is the simplest. It’s delicious – darkly aromatic with ripe black cherry and plum fruit brushed with savoury black pepper and the finest of tannins to give it its structure.

It was vinified in stainless steel and a proportion of used barriques by a family winery founded in 1955 and now run by the third generation: winemaker Markus Lentsch and his brother Thomas who is responsible for the vineyards and the technical equipment.

Their vineyards, cultivated sustainably and surrounded by reeds and salt ponds, are in Podersdorf on the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl, in the Seewinkel National Park in the heart of the Neusiedlersee region.

Hot summers, cold winters, a wide diurnal temperature range, the saline ponds (which dry up in summer) and the sandy clay soils all contribute to the distinctive character and minerality of the region's wines.

The 2022 Lentsch Zweigelt can be served lightly chilled, although doesn't have to be, and lends itself to a whole variety of foods and dishes, including barbecued and roast vegetables and meat (try pork belly), Italian sausages, pork and veal ragùs, bolognese sauce, meatballs, goulash, other lightly spiced dishes, and cheese dishes such as macaroni cheese. 13%. Empty bottle weight 400g.

Lentsch Zweigelt 2022, Burgenland, Austria

£10, Waitrose

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