2022 Bott Frigyes Kékfrankos Béla
Južnoslovenská, Slovakia
2022
100% Kékfrankos
Continental (hot summers & cold winters)
clay on top of volcanic bedrock
Processed with the Hamburger method (foot trodden high juice + whole cluster + hand destemmed) for 2 weeks. Aged in Hungarian oak for 10 months
13.1%
2.1 g/l
7 g/l
Notes & Pairings
During our last visit in 2023, it became clear to Frigyes that the flagship grapes of the estate should be Furmint and Kékfrankos. The Kadarka, Olaszrizling, Tramini, Muzsla Cuvée, Pinot Noir and Juhfark aren’t going away, but in terms of a hierarchy from village to cru to grand cru, Furmint and Kékfrankos is the aim. And as he moves into more maceration, zero filtering, and longer elevage, he’s being extra careful not to have these elements obscure place. The village level (Muzsla) is mostly from the volcanic/limestone and younger vines, the Cru (Béla) is from richer clay and loess, and the grand cru (Faricka) is from volcanic/limestone and the oldest vines. Their farming yields small and thicker skinned berries and are therefore the Béla is processed with the Hamburger method (foot trodden high juice + whole cluster + hand destemmed) for 2 weeks to ease up on the tannins inherent in the grape. It’s then barreled down aged in Hungarian oak for 10 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small amount of SO2 only at bottling. AS Frigyes puts it is, “The main message from our region.”
