Appellation · Austria
Leithaberg
A limestone and schist ridge above Lake Neusiedl, and Burgenland’s most structured Blaufränkisch.
Blaufränkisch that is medium-to-full bodied, dark-fruited and firmly structured with high acidity and a peppery edge.
About Leithaberg
The Leithaberg is a ridge of limestone and mica-schist running along the western side of Lake Neusiedl.
It is one of the few Austrian DACs covering both colours: white from Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Grüner Veltliner, and red from Blaufränkisch.
The Blaufränkisch is firm, high in acidity and savoury, with dark fruit and a stony grip — closer to Northern Rhône Syrah in structure than to anything else.
What the name means
- Legal name
- Leithaberg DAC
- Type
- Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC)
- Set by
- Österreichische Weinmarketing / national wine law
- Recognised
- 2009
- Regulates
- Origin, plus grape varieties, maximum yields, minimum ageing.
An origin-typical designation: the wine must be made from the varieties and in the style the district is known for, in a defined regional / village / single-vineyard hierarchy. Austrian wines from the same place that fall outside the DAC style are labelled under the wider federal state instead.
Covers both white and red, unusually — most Austrian DACs are single-colour.
Grapes
Wines from here
Rules worth knowing
Confirmed in the EU register
Leithaberg is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-AT-A0216, protected at EU level since 2009.
Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013
Specification published: Official Journal C 298, 8.9.2020 · Official Journal
Only the rules that change what to expect in the glass or on the label. WineHQ does not reproduce production specifications, and each entry carries the date it was last checked because appellation rules change.
The designation is confirmed above. WineHQ has not read this appellation’s production specification, so it publishes no yields, ageing minima or permitted-variety lists for it — those come from the document linked above, not from a summary of it.
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Neusiedlersee — The eastern shore of a huge shallow lake, where autumn mists produce botrytis almost every year.
- Mittelburgenland — A warm, sheltered basin on the Hungarian border given over almost entirely to Blaufränkisch.
- Burgenland — Austria’s red-wine heartland and the source of its botrytised sweet wines around Lake Neusiedl.
Approximate centroid: 47.85°, 16.70°. WineHQ stores coordinates only where it has them, and does not estimate boundaries it has not sourced.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Austrian Wine Marketing Board — Österreich Wein Marketing