Three grape growers who went up a hill and came down a mountain
Sitting on the top of the hill, during the spring-like sunny spell on January 12, we talked to László Krajcsovszki, one of the founders of Szeleshát, about the vineyard, the landscape, winemaking and lions.
"My brother-in-law is a grape grower, my sister is a winemaker, and I'm also a grape grower. We used to come around here for the paprika damaged by the hail. When there was nothing else to do on the paprika field, we came up to the hill. We climbed up, walked around and fell in love with it. It was in the spring of 1998. We gradually bought up the hilltop, the southernmost spur of the Szekszárd region, from 39 owners. At that time, there was plough-land and fruit trees on the windy top, which runs from north to south. On the sides there were remnants of very old vineyards."
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We stood at a height of 178.5 meters, about 100 meters above the Sárköz, on a separate hill, the eastern part of which is called Nagyhegy (Big Hill) by the locals. At the southern end, there is "szurdik út" which goes towards the Cistercian, later Benedictine, Abbey in Bátaszék. To the east, there is the plain of Sárköz, the Gemenc Forest and the picturesque flood-basin of the Danube. In the west, there are the cellars of Mórágy and the hills of Völgység. It's a stunning setting. In nice weather you can see the Zengő, which is the highest peak of the Mecsek. "The vineyard at the top of the hill was called Szeleshát because south of it, in the single valley that crosses the hills from west to east, the cold air of the Völgység swaps with the warm air of the Alföld. In the evenings the cold that comes from the Völgység cools down the grapes quickly and that's why acids remain lively here. We also fell in love with the soil at first sight. It's deep layered loess with high lime content. More than half of it is loess forest soil mixed with red clay and coloured with the famous Szekszárd red soil. The high iron and lime content, the distinctive climate and the constant movement of the air, makes the hill an excellent winemaking territory. Together they have a very good impact on the harmonious acid and tannin content.
We are a grape estate, not a winery. Everything is about the grape and the place. Since 2001, we have planted Kékfrankos, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Syrah plots in several phases. We harvested in 2004 for the first time, selling the nicely ripened grapes to well-known local winemakers. That was our profession. In 2007, the virgin crop of Kékfrankos and Pinot that turned yielding was the first vintage that made it into the Várdomb cellar that we'd restored. The cellar dates back to the time of Maria Theresa. We still bring the carefully selected bunches that are picked in small crates here and process them within two hours.
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The grapes are the key: we work exclusively with our own fruit. We are out on the estate at all times of the year. Later, all we have to do is to try not to ruin what nature and conscientious grape work has produced. We destem, then the must gets the yeasts which directly drip down from the loft level from where the grape marc quickly cools down.
This is the way that Szeleshát captures its special, trademark fruity aromas and taste. We ferment for 12-15 days on the skins, stirring every four hours for the sake of achieving the desired red wine character, after which the wine is racked off its rough lees by gravity to settle in barrels.
Barrel ageing is carried out in the nearby village of Lajvér, where the cellar was dug out during the Turkish occupation. Lajvér was once one of the centres of viticulture for the Bátaszék Abbey and later for the Emperor's imperial wine cellar, as well as a grape growers' settlement. Szeleshát's vineyards were once the abbey's. If we look at it this way, Szeleshát's is bringing wine home to the place.
I wanted a wild boar on the label. There are loads of them around here, and I like them. They go after their noses, breaking their way in front of them. Then, at the time of renovating the cellar, my two-and-a-half year old son told me that he wanted to go to the lion's cave. The cave was the dilapidated cellar and the lion was a tiny, old relief on the rusty iron gate that only he'd noticed. So that's how it became a lion. That's also strong.
As I've already said, we are a grape estate on a nice, separated hill, where grapes grow nicely. We think the other way: we are subordinates to the wine, the name to the grapes. That's what we know and what we'd like to do the best."
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