Bott Frigyes Kékfrankos 2022

Since 2020 it has become clear to Frigyes that Furmint and Kékfrankos would define the estate’s future. Though Kadarka, Olaszrizling, Tramini, Muzsla Cuvée, Pinot Noir, and Juhfark continue to be made, his vision now centres on a clear hierarchy—village, cru, and grand cru—elevating these two varieties to express the terroir of Muzsla. 

With an increasing emphasis on extended maceration, minimal intervention, and prolonged élevage, Frigyes is careful to ensure that technique never overshadows terroir. Muzsla, representing the village level, comes primarily from volcanic-limestone soils and younger vines. Béla (this wine), classified as a cru, is rooted in clay and loess, while Faricka, the grand cru, is planted with the estate’s oldest vines on volcanic-limestone slopes. Farming practices favour small, thick-skinned berries, making a delicate approach essential. Béla, for instance, undergoes the ‘Hamburger method’—a combination of whole-cluster fermentation, foot-treading, and hand-destemming—over two weeks to soften its naturally firm tannins. The wine then spends ten months in Hungarian oak before being bottled unfiltered and unfined, with only a whisper of SO₂ at bottling. As Frigyes describes it, “This is the true voice of our region.”