2019 Kékfrankos Bati Kereszt

This Kékfrankos is emblematic of a red line that runs through many Hungarian reds. It’s aromatic, spicy, refreshing, and counterintuitively has grip where you might otherwise expect more of a carbonic softness. It’s also light in terms of weight without having that picked-too-earliness quality. Because of all of this, it does require some food in a way that the estate (Birtok) wines arguably do not. The Bati Kereszet vineyard is north facing, surrounded by forest, and so cool here that the fruit is always 2-3 weeks later than any other site. Maceration ranges from 5-22 days, light pump-overs, delicate pressing and zero pumps. All marc is moved by hand. Aged in both tank and barrel for 8 months. The 2-3 g/l or residual sugar is not felt in the texture at all (tannins are dry), but more like the subtle natural sweetness you get from roasted beets or braised red cabbage.