Bonsai by Claus Preisinger is a natural wine made in Burgenland, Austria with 100% Blaufränkisch grapes.... even thought trying blind you might guess a Poulsard from Jura, andf there is a reason behind that...
What is the story behind Claus Preisinger's BONSAI wine?
This wine seems to be made in a creative way, and is called Bonsai because the tiny vines on the small Ried Rosenberg used to look like bonsai trees thanks to their stock culture planting style, and needed to be farmed only by horse.
With the idea to make a VERY light Blaufränkisch with complexity, the barrels were marked as Bonsai before the wine name was found, then someone added the Japanese translation... someone asked Claus what he will call the wine and he replied "Well... the name is already there!" pointing to the barrel.
This is Claus Preisinger's attempt to make Blaufränkisch as light as possible whilst still being complex, inspired by his love for Jura Poulsard.
For the previous 2022 vintage, (we have not yet tried the 2024) expect blackcurrants and sour cherries, alongside mild suggestions of sage and hints of earth. We actually blinded it to some winemaker friends in Jura.. and they guessed Poulsard!
