Szekszárd
Kadarka is our heritage, but that is not the main reason why we love it. Its grace, delicate tannins and distinctive spicy character make it an excellent match with modern cuisine. Kadarka is a capricious variety, so we have set out to identify and cultivate rare and forgotten clones to improve its consistency. In our experience great precision and low intervention in winemaking are the key to preserving its unique character.
Grapes
Conventional plant protection
No use of herbicides and insecticides
(certified organic conversion started in 2020)
Careful manual shoot and bunch selection
Hand harvest in 15kg boxes
Between 24th August and 8th September
Yield 8-11 tons/ha
Origin
Kadarka parcels in Iván-völgy (P9), Porkoláb-völgy (P123, P111, P147)
and Bödő (P122, P124) single vineyards
Grapes
Mostly organic plant protection, non certified
No use of herbicides and insecticides
(certified organic conversion started in 2020)
Careful manual shoot and bunch selection
Hand harvest in 15kg boxes
Between 24th August and 8th September
Yield 6-9 tons/ha
Origin
Kadarka parcels in Iván-völgy (P9), Porkoláb-völgy (P123, P111, P147) and Bödő (P122, P124) single vineyards
Grapes
In conversion to organic plant protection
No use of herbicides and insecticides
Certification body: Biokontroll Hungária HU-ÖKO-01
Careful manual shoot and bunch selection
Hand harvest in 15kg boxes
Between 10th and 22th September
Yield 4-9 tons/ha
Origin
Kadarka parcels in Iván-völgy (P9), Porkoláb-völgy (P123, P111, P147) and Bödő (P122, P124) single vineyards
Grapes
In conversion to organic plant protection
No use of herbicides and insecticides
Certification body: Biokontroll Hungária HU-ÖKO-01
Careful manual shoot and bunch selection
Hand harvest in 15kg boxes
Between 10th and 25th of September, 2021
Yield 2-6.5 tons/ha
Origin
Kadarka parcels in Iván-völgy, Porkoláb-völgy, Bödő, Bati Kereszt and Bodzás single vineyards
Grapes
In conversion to organic plant protection
No use of herbicides and insecticides
Certification body: Biokontroll Hungária HU-ÖKO-01
Careful manual shoot and bunch selection
Hand harvest in 15kg boxes
Between 1st and 22nd of September, 2021
Yield 3.5-6.5 tons/ha
Origin
Kadarka parcels in Iván-völgy, Gyűszű-völgy, Porkoláb-völgy, Bödő and Bati Kereszt single vineyards
Vintage
In 2018 flowering started early, at the end of May and it was followed by a warm and dry summer. Thirsty wasps had cut holes on the thin skins of the berries opening the gateway to fruitflies which started feasting on the grapes as early as mid-August.
Therefore we had to start picking quite early and at speed, right after our wedding ceremony on August 21. It was a painstaking process: to avoid picking unripe or vinagery bunches we had to return over and over again to the same plots. At the beginning of September there were 2 days of heavy rains (90-100mm) which interrupted our work but not much later we could finish the harvest of Kadarka.
Vinification
The 2018 harvest has brought whole scale changes to our winery. What started earlier as experiments have now been applied to much larger lots: whole cluster fermentation, conversion from cultured yeast to indigenous yeast (pied de cuve) and long maceration in 5000-8000 litre wood or steel fermentation vats. We wanted to transfer the post-fermentation marc containing the pips in the most gentle way to the press, so instead of using pumps we opted for manual tools: spades and big boxes. The new way of fermenting has resulted in unprecedented freshness and intensity in our Kadarkas and to preserve these characteristics we decided to age the wines in steel tanks and large barrels for shorter periods.
Spontaneous fermentation in
stainless steel and wooden fermenters
Delicate extraction with daily 2x pigeage or pump-over
Pressed without pumping after 10-12 days of skin contact
Spontaneous malolactic fermentation
Barrel aging for 8 months in
large, used Hungarian barrels
Estate bottled without fining and
with coarse filtration.
Ratings
Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com »
Clear ruby-turning-garnet colour. Smells of fresh mushrooms and cranberries and pepper. Delicate, sweet, translucent fruit, gossamer-fine tannins and yet there is an intensity on this wine – like finding the imprint of a fiercely scribbled poem on the under-page of a notepad. It seems to be made of dragonfly wings, with that shimmering, iridescent quality of beauty. You could drink this every single day! A wine that seems to embody kindness, gentleness but also soul fire. Very Good Value (TC)
Drink 2020 – 2023
17 points
Dr. Jamie Goode, WineAnorak.com »
There’s a bit of whole bunch here. This is pale in colour – really pale. There’s a lovely purity to the red cherry and cranberry fruit with some herbal hints and a nice sappy greenness. Shows some fine spices and notes of tea and herbs. Lovely subtle, drinkable wine with great precision. 93/100
Wein.Plus »
Somewhat dried vegetable, nutty and earthy scent of red berries. Slender red fruit, slightly earthy, nutty and tobacco aromas, moderate tannin, some persistence, delicate vegetable tones, quite good, tart finish with a hint of salt. Good. 84 WP
Alder Yarrow, Vinography.com
Light ruby in the glass, this wine smells of chopped herbs and red berries and a hint of forest floor. In the mouth, herbs, redcurrants, raspberries and wet leaves mix with a wonderful, wet pavement minerality. Wet leaves linger in the finish. Faint tannins. Excellent acidity. 12.0% alcohol. Score: around 9
Tomasz Prange-Barczynski, Ferment
Light, ultra delicate, clean, aromatic nose. Super fruity on the pallet, elegant, slightly earthy, harmonious, classic, pleasant kadarka. 89 points
Our Recommendation
Enjoy between 2020-2023
slightly chilled, preferably out of Burgundy glasses.
Szekszárd Bottle
„Szekszárd Bottle” is a regional quality seal, that may be used only for Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Szekszárd Bikavér wines, after passing a rigorous test.
eCap 100% recyclable aluminium capsule
Vintage
2019 started with a dry and warm March and it was followed by a cold and rainy May, slowing down the initial rapid growth of the vines. From June on, a warm and dry summer granted reliable flowering and berry development, which led us to start harvest in the first days of September.
Picking Kadarka was – as it always is – a painstaking process: to avoid picking unripe or unhealthy bunches we had to return over and over again to the same plots.
Vinification
Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and wooden fermenters
Delicate extraction with daily 2x pigeage or pump-over
Pressed without pumping after 12-14 days of skin contact
Spontaneous malolactic fermentation
Aging for 8 months in large, used Hungarian barrels
& stainless steel
Estate bottled without fining and with coarse filtration.
Ratings
Falstaff Shortlist, June 2021
Bright chimney red. Fragrant wine, cherry pit and cherry blossom. In the mouth with a lot of juiciness, but also with a grainy tannin in a rather discreet amount matching the light colour. Well-integrated acidity supporting the juiciness, medium aromatic expression. Independent. Needs food, perhaps a goulash. 90 points, Falstaff Top Value
Piotr Wdowiak, wineoclock.pl »
The nose brings a delightful blend of raspberry and sour cherry with a touch of forest litter. The mouth is spacious, hedonistically sour, bursting with fresh fruit (again raspberry and cherry) with a subtle stone bitterness. Fruit eruption in the service of refreshment. Despite its airy character, it performed well with the rib eye steak. ***** very good
Paul Kern, Weinkenner.de »
Der Einstiegs-Kadarka aus verschiedenen Lagen in Szekszárd. Ein Wein voller Frische, Sauerkirsche, Walderdbeere, der fast ohne Gerbstoff auskommt. Am besten leicht gekühlt trinken.
Our Recommendation
Enjoy between 2020-2023
slightly chilled, preferably out of Burgundy glasses.
Szekszárd Bottle
„Szekszárd Bottle” is a regional quality seal, that may be used only for Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Szekszárd Bikavér wines, after passing a rigorous test.
eCap 100% recyclable aluminium capsule
Vintage
An average warm spring brought a slow start to growth. Flowering started a little late, in the first days of June. Due to the cold and rainy weather, berry set didn't go smoothly, leading to a 20-30% yield loss in most Kadarka plots. The summer was warm but without major heat waves. The very arid August was followed by a dry autumn, except for a heavy rain in early September. The few but excellent quality grapes were picked later than usual, in mid-September. In retrospect we see 2020 as a low yielding but beautifully ripe vintage.
Vinification
Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and wooden fermenters
Delicate extraction with daily 2x pigeage or pump-over
Pressed without pumping after 12-14 days of skin contact
Spontaneous malolactic fermentation
Aging for 8 months in stainless steel tanks
Estate bottled without fining and with coarse filtration.
Ratings
Wine Align, John Szabo MS
Wild fermented with whole bunches, and aged in large Hungarian oak cask, this is a typically pale, garnet-coloured example of Kadarka from specialist Heimann in Szekszárd, in a line of wines made by Zoltan Heimann Jr., the next, forward- thinking generation. This is much better than his earlier efforts, cleaner, less volatile, and appealingly spicy in the varietal idiom, also with plenty of ripe red fruit, cherry, raspberry and strawberry in particular. Tannins are ultra-fine and silky and acids moderate and ripe, giving this an even-keeled balance on the palate. Length and depth overall are also excellent in the price category. You might think of this as somewhere between pinot noir and gamay with a bit of a cabernet franc, spicy twist. Lovely now in any case, especially with a light chill. Tasted December 2021.
***** 90 points.
Wine.Plus »
Youthful, a hint of floral scent of predominantly red berries with herbal nuances. Straightforward, tart, youthful, again more red than black fruit, dried-vegetable notes, fine sandy, moderate tannin, peppery traces, good, tart finish with some bite.
Very Good. 85 WP.
Best to drink until 2024+
Our Recommendation
Enjoy between 2021-2025
slightly chilled, preferably out of Burgundy glasses.
Szekszárd Bottle
„Szekszárd Bottle” is a regional quality seal, that may be used only for Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Szekszárd Bikavér wines, after passing a rigorous test.
eCap 100% recyclable aluminium capsule
Vintage
Spring started off average, but by May and June the weather had cooled and turned wet. Flowering started late and went rapidly. From the second half of June, hot and very dry weather set in. Very atypically, end of August brought a severe cooling-down, followed by some refreshing small rainfalls in early September. Due to the drought and stuttered progress of the vegetation most plots produced a high quality crop, with low yields.
Harvest began late and sluggishly on 10 September, as acidity was still overly abundant in most varieties, and aromatic development also was behind. By the end of the month, however, most of our plantations had ripened suddenly, so we harvested almost non-stop for three weeks. Overall, we finished processing in just under a month instead of the usual 6 weeks.
Vinification
Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and wooden fermenters, with 20-30% whole bunches
Delicate extraction with daily 2x pigeage or pump-over
Pressed without pumping after 12-15 days of skin contact
Spontaneous malolactic fermentation
Aging for 8 months in stainless steel tanks
Estate bottled without fining and filtration.
Ratings
James Suckling, Stuart Pigott
The very fresh red-plum and nectarine aromas give this light and lively red plenty of character, and the light, healthy tannin gives the juicy finish both a touch of warmth and a clean line. Drink now.
**** Score: 90 Points
Our Recommendation
Enjoy between 2022-2026
slightly chilled, preferably out of Burgundy glasses.
Szekszárd Bottle
„Szekszárd Bottle” is a regional quality seal, that may be used only for Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Szekszárd Bikavér wines, after passing a rigorous test.
eCap 100% recyclable aluminium capsule
Vintage
The spring of 2022 started off relatively dry but cooler than average. Flowering took place at the historically usual time, nowadays regarded as almost late, in mid-June. The summer was extremely dry and hot, and the vines showed signs of this.
The choice of harvest date is a good indication of how different varieties and areas reacted differently to the extreme summer: the Kadarka were harvested over two weeks with higher than average acidity. While the cooler areas had balanced aromas, the more exposed plantations ripened perfectly according to analytical measurements, but we needed to wait in many cases to pick ripe fruit flavours. Harvesting was congested: the medium and late varieties were picked almost together, so we finished processing in 4 weeks instead of the usual 6 weeks.
Vinification
Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and cement fermenters, with 20-30% whole bunches
Delicate extraction with daily 2x pigeage or pump-over
Pressed without pumping after 10-15 days of skin contact
Spontaneous malolactic fermentation
Aging for 4-6 months in cement tanks
Estate bottled without fining, but with a fine filtration.
Our Recommendation
Enjoy between 2023-2027
slightly chilled, preferably out of Burgundy glasses.
Szekszárd Bottle
„Szekszárd Bottle” is a regional quality seal, that may be used only for Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Szekszárd Bikavér wines, after passing a rigorous test.
eCap 100% recyclable aluminium capsule