Fekete Hárslevelű Gold Edition 2019

Fekete Hárslevelű Gold Edition 2019

Many years ago when Gábor joined some friends to take over the winery after Béla retired, one of the wines that sealed the deal was a 2007 Furmint. We’ve also been lucky to have tasted that wine ourselves. This 2019 brings about many of the same feelings.

The winemaking is in the Béla style – 10 months in used 1000L oak barrels, but then it’s followed by 4 years in tank. When we first saw this tank tucked into the back corner of the cellar, it didn’t even look like it was designed for wine. This is healthy botrytis meets perfectly ripe Somlói fruit.

Can you imagine tasting a wine like this in the 18th or 19th Century? Pickled salted Mango, ripe guava, and a brilliantly bright golden color in an era of alchemy?

First off, none of those fruits are known to anyone beyond perhaps royalty in Central Europe at that time. Even the sugar at the time was likely sugar beats.

While it’s a one off, we secured as much as we could.

Vinification
Careful hand harvesting and sorting, skin contact of 4 hours. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in 1000l Hungarian oak casks.

Maceration & Aging
10 months in used 1000L oak barrels, followed by 4 years in tank

Available since September, 2024

Producer: Fekete

Appellation: Somló, Hungary (Shoam-low)

Vintage: 2019

Composition: 100% Hárslevelű (HARSHlehveh-LOO)

Climate: Cool Continental

Soils: Basalt and ancient seabed

Alcohol: 14%

Residual Sugar: 7.7 g/l

Acidity 6.6 g/l

Production (bottles): 1,950