St. Donat Magma Kékfrankos 2024

This wine comes from Tihány (Tee-Hahn), a small wine region on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. St. Donat farms Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) and other red varieties across this region and works with white grapes in the neighbouring region of Csopak (Choe-pack). St. Donat is the most significant estate producing wine in these regions, and the only one (to my knowledge) working organically. The vineyards of Tihány are situated around the edge of two lakes in the crater of an extinct volcano (Tihány is itself a volcano), and the red wines demonstrate the importance of volcanic soils to mineral expression in wine. The wine shows sour cherry, raspberry, red currant, and wild herbs, supported by a stony mineral character and fine tannic structure. Bright acidity and a savoury finish give shape and persistence.