Sziegl Kadarka Herreberg 2023

If you ever find yourself in Hungary's sandy, cellar-riddled wine village of Hajós, you'll probably meet Petra and Balázs Sziegl. They’re the kind of people juggling a newborn, a young winery, and a mission to revive Kadarka: the elegant, Pinot-esque grape that basically ran Hungary before everyone forgot about it. They farm everything themselves.

This 100% Kadarka comes from a vineyard considered a grand cru by the locals. They treat it lightly: half gets a juicy, semi-carbonic ferment, the other half is whole-berry in open vats. 85% ages in old Hungarian oak barrels, and the rest in stainless steel tanks.

This wine is kind of a beautiful mess of wild berries and rhubarb, but also orange peel, rose leaves, white pepper and liquorice. It’s bright, it’s earthy.