We’ve followed more than 20 vintages of Imre’s – the technology and his values have not changed in the meantime, only the size of the estate has. By today, three parcels, altogether 0.48 hectares of vineyards remain, “as much as we can handle,” says Imre. In these three parcels everything is in order.

The 2018 wines give back a warmer vintage, alongside it the Somló character and the winemaker’s style are in great harmony. From the three varieties, altogether 2,600 bottles have been made and we’re showing them for the first time.

“We usually harvest the amount of one barrel at a time. I have a small Italian destemmer. I try to use it in a way that the stems are not damaged, and the grapes only split slightly. I don’t macerate much, a maximum of 2-3 hours, until we destem the whole amount. We scoop it out of the vat by bucket and move it to the press. Pressing doesn’t last long. One cannot force it because if you do, the ducts formed in the marc — where the must runs — get filled up. We keep an eye on it to make sure it runs constantly. We sit next to the press and turn it a bit if necessary.

Usually, the loosening phase comes at 7-8pm. I take the press apart, Gyöngyi washes the basket, I do the rest of the press. Then we put the rest of the marc back and continue pressing it gently. Sometimes, I have a nap in the meantime as it stretches into the night. We settle the fresh must for 8 to 10 hours. It’s important that it shouldn’t be too clean, that not all of the yeast settles because we need the yeast for spontaneous fermentation. We scoop it to the barrel in buckets and not with a pump (because I could never wash it properly). And then we leave it for a bit. After the spontaneous fermentation, we fill up the barrels, we rack it once in December and once in the spring, bottling usually takes place at the end of July. That’s when the year is finished for me.”

Imre Györgykovács