Heimann & Fiai "Piros" 2022 Siller Szekszárd, Hungary

750ml bottle

13% abv

"Our goal is to transform Szekszárd into an internationally recognized, high-end wine region capable of appealing to the most sophisticated and curious wine lovers.”

 – The Heimann family

APPELLATION: Szekszárd (SekSard)

GRAPE COMPOSITION: Kékfrankos, Merlot, and Sagrantino

CLIMATE: Cool continental with dry warm summers

SOILS: Mainly loess with iron rich red clay.

MACERATION & AGING: Foot tread, direct pressed and fermented and aged in concrete.

RESIDUAL SUGAR: 1.8 g/l

ACIDITY: 6.1 g/l

This has been a long time in the making. Over a decade ago, Heimann, along with 10 or so other producers in Szekszárd, re-introduced Siller as “Fuxli” into the market. Somewhere in between a rosé and a light red, it was meant to revive a style lost during Communism. It was more of a dark, reductive, and slightly bitter rosé often meant to be used for a Fröccs (aka spritz). Since then, what is a Siller has been reinterpreted and in our opinion, become one of the most delicious wines in Central Europe. We now have versions from Austria, Serbia, Romania, Slovakia and more than 5 from Hungary. It’s now time for an update from Zoltán Heimann. This is the inaugural vintage of their Piros (red) Siller. It’s a blend of Kékfrankos, Merlot and Sagrantino (cuttings from Umbria planted in the Bati Kereszt vineyard). Everything is foot tread, direct pressed and exclusively fermented and aged in concrete. The stem inclusion does give off some woodiness, but zero barrels were used. The Sagrantino gives a particular kind of grip (likely the only planting in Hungary), while the direct pressed Kékfrankos and Merlot add fruit, meatiness, and lift. Spicy, fresh, and chillable non glou-glou goodness from Southern Hungary.

The 2018 vintage marked the beginning of a dual Heimann family approach. Heimann and Fiai (Heimann and Sons) and Heimann Családi (Heimann Family). The Heimann family has been pioneering in bringing many clones of Kadarka back to life from the verge of extinction during Communism. Once covered over 60,000 hectares in Hungary, Kadarka was less than 400 hectares in the early 1990s. In addition to Kadarka research and planting, Zoltán Sr. and his wife Ágnes had also built an impressive business centered around Bordeaux varieties, some Viognier, and even a little Sagrantino. With 20+ years of lessons learned about which clones work best and where they should be planted, it’s finally become time for Heimann & Fiai to focus exclusively on Kadarka and Kékfrankos. Along with conversion to organic farming, the winemaking also reflects a different approach geared towards freshness and aromatics. Multiple passes for picking, using more whole clusters, open vat fermentation, less extraction, and moving the wine manually in lieu of pumps.

VINEYARDS: The Szekszárd appellation was originally established by the Celts, flourished under the Romans and survived Turkish occupation. Then Serbians, pushed north by the Turks, brought the Kadarka grape with them. Where the Serbians brought a key red grape, the Swabians brought superior winemaking skills. Their influence is still felt today. Case in point, the Heimann family is intensely proud of their Swabian roots and have been making wine here since 1758. The appellation used to be almost entirely white wine but Kékfrankos and a variety of Bordeaux varieties have taken firmly to the region. They survived under Communism while many of the native white and red grapes did not fair so well, namely Kadarka. Heimann farms roughly 23 hectares spread over the Baranya, Porkoláb and Iván Valleys in addition to some rare hillside plantings on Bati. The soil is overwhelmingly loess in Szekszárd, but you can also find Terra Rosa if you get deep enough. Approaching the appellation from the Great Plain, you first hit the River Danube and then the first hills are Szekszárd. It’s a fairly dramatic change in the landscape and an obvious place for multiple exposures. Currently most plantings are Kékfrankos with smaller amounts of Merlot, Cab Franc, Tannat, Sagrantino (from Umbria!) and now more than ever re-plantings of Kadarka are underway

WINEMAKING: All fermentation are spontaneous, zero fining, coarsely filtered if at all, and a minimal use of SO2 at bottling. They are also aging wines in clay in addition to Hungarian oak and stainless steel.