2018 Fekete Juhfark
Somló, Hungary (Shoam-low)
2018
%100 Juhfark (you - fark)
Cool Continental
Basalt and ancient seabed
Southern
4 hours of skin maceration, ermented in 1000L Hungarian Oak barrels then aged 10 months on the lees.
12.8%
1.3 g/l
7.6 g/l
Notes & Pairings
Juhfark (Sheep’s tail) is a distinctive white grape variety found almost exclusively in Somló. The clusters are long, tightly packed and curve a little at the end hence the sheep’s tail moniker. Naturally very high in acidity, it’s also fairly neutral on its own and instead absorbs and shows fidelity to the mineral spring water that flows from inside the extinct volcano. With only 4 hours of skin maceration, it’s then fermented in 1000L Hungarian Oak barrels followed by 10 months on the lees in the same vessels. It’s then moved to 500 and 1500 liter tanks for reductive aging for a minimum of two years before bottling. No racking and no stirring. According to Bay Area restaurateur Jeff Berlin, “it’s the ultimate yin and yang wine in that it is at once rich, opulent and elegant but has such prominent veins of volcanic ash and minerality running through it at the same time. Like a Caligulan feast in a glass.” For those seeking cool climate intensely volcanic whites, this is a benchmark.
