The Rupperts show something new almost every year. An example was the Bolond Kalapos (i.e. Mad Hatter) wine in 2019: a nouveau Portugieser wine fermented in whole bunches – the way they do in Beaujolais. It became so great that we waited for the third Thursday (of November) with it, so that we could show it with the French Beaujolais Nouveau wines. And now, here is the next one: the variety is the same, but the winemaking is completely different. “In Villány, almost everyone makes Portugieser, but everybody does it in a slightly different way. Now, we are also showing how we tackled this variety – everybody has a place at the table,” says Andris Ruppert.

Instead of nouveau wine aromas, the more restrained side of the variety – with subtly rustic notes, a light and smooth palate with lingering flavours – can be felt. It comes from an old, 1.4-hectare plot in the Diósviszló vineyard. Harvesting took place on the last day of August, then following the bunch and berry selection, the wine was fermented traditionally in open vats with manual punching down. Shortly after pressing, the fresh wine was put into used, 225-litre barrels, in which it was aged for 4 months. 

Altogether 1,650 bottles were made.