2024 Kadarka Pét Nat

These grapes are at the forefront of Oszkár’s permaculture experiments focused on un-pruned vines. Without pruning, the leaves become much larger and stronger. When there was an early frost a few years ago, the leaves cradled the clusters and protected them. The same thing occurred with shielding from sunburn. The idea of crop thinning and leaf pulling certainly has its place in promoting a singular ripe and volume heavy harvest, but Oszkár is convinced that while it might hit the right brix, it won’t be the most delicious because it’s not what the vine wanted. It’s also been a few years since this experiment began and a significant portion of the 2024 harvest was from vines growing up trees. This is the kind of symbiosis he’s been looking for despite added labor and lower yields. Despite being non-disgorged, the pressure is under control when opening and the sediment rests at the bottom of the bottle. There’s a special wildness to this Kadarka especially in the absence of botrytis and the resulting longer élevage in the dry still wines.