Pinot Noir 2021 - István Bencze

Pinot Noir - István Bencze

A Pinot Noir that comes from the heart of Hungary. The grapes come from twenty-year-old vineyards that are located on soils of volcanic origin at 130 m.s.l.m. After the manual harvest, 20% of the grapes are left in whole clusters in the cellar while the remaining part is gently de-stemmed. Spontaneous fermentation in open wooden vats with 10 days maceration. Refine in steel on the lees for 10 months. A fruity wine, fresh and full of surprises. A Pinot Noir from the pioneer of natural winemaking in Hungary, István Bencze.

Service

We suggest to taste it at a temperature of 16/18° in tulip glasses. Wine to be drunk immediately, but it will express its best in a few years. It is advisable to keep it in a horizontal position in a cool, damp and dark cellar.

Pairing

A wine that can be tasted as an aperitif or paired with meat dishes, to try with a crab salad.

Winery: István Bencze

István Bencze winery is located on the volcanic slopes of Hegymagas with a view of Lake Balaton. A splendid place, where the minerality of the volcanic soil is transferred to the wines and, as Istvan says, its goal is to produce natural wines to better show the territory, trying to concentrate on exploring the traditional Hungarian vines and cultivating what is given by nature. Ever since he was a child, Istvan has had a strong connection with country life. He helped his grandmother to do anything in her vegetable garden near Debrecen, where there were also 4 or 5 rows of vines that they collected every year to make some wine. Istvan subsequently took a degree in information and founded an IT company, which thrived and grew, and led him to work regularly from 12 to 14 hours a day. At the age of 30, after a trip to Italy that brought him to know good wine and good food, he decided to abandon his business and devote himself entirely to the production of wine. He buys a small vineyard of 0.3 hectares, where different varieties were bred and, right from the start he aimed at the production of natural wines because he realized that he did not like the conventional and standardized wines on the market. His first vintage is 2012 where he produces two wines, a Riesling and another white with the other varieties. Today the estate is made up of three very different vineyards, located on the south side of Szent György-hegy, for a total of 20 hectares. We can find vines of Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Piros bakator, Kék bakator, Furmint, Hárslevelű, Rhein riesling and Kéknyelű. Istvan is the only one to cultivate biodynamic in the area, but other producers, seeing Istvan's healthy vines, are thinking of converting. Today his wines are known all over the world, complex wines, with personality and where the terroir can feel.