Karner Gábor & Fanni Otthon#3
Matrá, Hungary
100% Kékfrankos
Continental (hot summers & cold winters)
Andesite, red clay, and chalk
2 weeks on the skins, 50% aged in barrel, 50% aged in polypropylene tank
12.8%
0.8 g/l
7.1 g/l
Notes & Pairings
When we began working together, the only two Kékfrankos Fanni and Gábor produced were the single vineyard Tavasz and Vitézföld. These need age, are intensely structured, and as amazing as they are, are both limited in quantity and deservedly expensive. The non vintage Otthon is what we have to best introduce them. Otthon, literally meaning “home,” is a field blend of Kékfrankos across a number of vintages.. Fanni admits that at first they were trying to create an easier kind of glou-glou wine, but given their farming, the site, the grape and their cellar, it was all but impossible. They didn’t want to pick earlier at the expense of ripeness, they didn’t want to macerate less than it needed to, and it needed more lees contact for stability. So after 2 weeks on the skins, 50% aged in barrel, 50% aged in polypropylene tank, it was bottled unfiltered with zero additions. We started with Otthon #1 which was pulling from extreme drought years and recently converted to organics. They were tough low nitrogen years. This #3 is post drought (mostly 2022 fruit) and with much healthier levels of nitrogen which helps with volatility in particular. It’s bright, can take a chill, but hasn’t lost its teeth at all.
