Kolonics - 'Juhsecco' - Juhfark - Somló, HU - 2020

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Alcohol content: 10.3% Residual Sugar: 0.7 g/l Acidity: 6.3 g/l We’ve spent years and years buying single barrel vintages of Juhfark, Furmint and Hárslevelű with long élevage in older, sometimes 100 year old plus large format barrels. We are still doing and love this, but we skipped right over a local favorite in doing so - CO2 charged Juhfark from a particularly high acid vintage. It’s a play on words and it’s a playful wine. Was it aged 5 years on the lees and hand rack and riddled Juhfark? Far from it, but it tastes like Somló and is priced to be accessible and take a risk on. After talking with Károly about it, the harvest of 2020 was of course peak COVID. He didn’t know how long or how bad things would get. He did however know that he wanted to drink bright sparkling Juhfark. Pro tip, add a splash of Gin and squeeze of lemon for the lesser known Hungarian 75 cocktail.

Notes on the Producer

Károly Kolonics is a 4th generation winemaker who grew up in nearby Devecser but spent his weekends and summers in Somló. His grandparents were born and raised on the hill. His Somlói lineage goes back notably to his great grandparents who emigrated to the US before WWI.Once the war threatened Hungary, they mailed back as much money as possible. There was an issue with the postmaster and none of the money went to the family and the estate was lost to the Abbey. The family eventually got their land back. The labels are photos of the great grand parents from the late 1800s. Today, Kolonics farms about 9 hectares of Olaszrizling, Furmint, Juhfark and Hárslevelű in thick basalt crumble soil. The area is also covered in chestnut and walnut trees at an altitude just above the frost line. No herbicides, pesticides, cover crops are cut by hand, and he uses orange oil and hand sprayed SO2 when needed. His barrel regiment of large 1500L Hungarian oak and Acacia barrels, many around 60 years old, are adorned with the names of Kings and Saints of Hungary. According to Károly, “I usually say that when you taste a wine and you speak about the barrel you do not speak about God but of his dress.” As for winemaking, grapes are destemmed, pressed, and then usually spend 6-8 hours of maceration before the native fermentation begins. All wines are barrel fermented and aged, full malo and only racked once before bottling.

Website: http://www.kolonicspinceszet.hu
Region: Somló
Climate: Cool Continental
Soils: Basalt and ancient seabed
Altitude: 220-260 meters
Topography: Slopes of an ancient dormant volcano
Fruits: Olaszrizling, Furmint, Juhfark and Hárslevelű
Vineyard Size: 9 hectares
Viticulture: Sustainable
Fertilization: Natural