Bottle Rocket: 2019 Heimann & Fiai Kékfrankos Bati-Kereszt

Readers of our newsletter already know that I love kékfrankos, the Hungarian version of blaufränkisch. If you need a reminder why, read Why We Love: Blaufränkisch/Kékfrankos from last year. Last week, Eric Danch, our favorite importer of Hungarian and other Central and Eastern European Wines, brought us three completely distinctive kékfrankos. The show-stealer was the 2019 Heimann & Fiai Kékfrankos Bati-Kereszt.

Zoltán and Zoltán Jr. Heimann are father and son (fiai means “sons” in Hungarian). They, along with wife/mom Ágnes, grow and make wine in the southern Hungarian appellation of Szekszárd (pronounced SEX-hard, more or less… yes, really). Check out the Danch & Granger page on this family winery for a sense of the long and tortuous history of wine production in Szekszárd; Celts, Romans, Cistercians, Turks, Serbians, and Swabians have all played a role.

Bati-Kereszt is a single, north-facing vineyard near the Danube River with loess (wind-blown silt) soils over red-clay layers. Heimann’s vineyards are certified organic; they ferment naturally and generally mess with the wine as little as possible in the winery. This wine ages in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and wooden barrels for eight months. It’s got a wildly expressive spicy and floral nose that’s redolent of dark berries.

This is a kékfrankos with some structure, yet still lively and refreshing. Drink it with roasted vegetables and/or braised meats–bonus points for anything involving Hungarian paprika.