Welcome

Join us and see what a great wine in Szekszárd like

Welcome

Join us and see what a great wine in Szekszárd like

About

I born with 50% Kadarka in my blood. I have been raised in Szekszárd and I have started helping my grandfather in his winery since my childhood on. Our family heritage are old, head-trained Kadarka vines.

Nowadays I still cultivates these vines in a 4.5 ha territory, that are one of the oldest ones of the region. Everything is managed by me and my family from the grapes to the bottle. We work organically in the vineyards to preserve our vivid soils.

My goal is to show the tradition and the elegance of Szekszárd region, by making wines that were made also in the old days, such as Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Bikavér. I believe nature knows its job, so I try to intervene least as possible in the cellar.

Varieties I’m working with:
Kadarka, Kékfrankos, Zweigelt, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Wines

Kadarka 2022

„I’ve got Kadarka in my veins, I grew up here, I know every ravine, vineyard and reaper. I’ve been working since I was a kid, going at dawn, resting at home at noon, finishing in the vineyards at night. I’m from Szekszárd, a winegrower, a vine grower, a farmer.” – says Ifj. János Márkvárt, the inquisitive and honest winemaker from Szekszárd. Kadarka is one of the greatest treasures in the wine region, yet it is grown on just 100 hectares out of a total of 2,100 hectares. By comparison, a quarter of the vines on Jani Márkvárt’s 4-hectare family estate are Kadarka, with vines so old and gnarled that the last time we saw the likes of them was in Rioja. His fresh Kadarka, which is just starting up, is a blend of several areas and younger vines, organically grown. There’s no hoeing between the vines, the natural weed flora blooms in spring and balances the vines in summer, the berries are smaller, the skin thicker and the flavours deeper. The winemaking is traditional, with the berries fermented in open vats, briefly macerated on the skins and bottled unfiltered after six months of ageing. Textbook, original, spicy and juicy.

It is the first of a new look for the estate and the forerunner of a new wine that Jani and I have been working on a lot recently. To be continued.

Sauli Kadarka 2021

„I’ve got Kadarka in my veins, I grew up here, I know every ravine, vineyard and reaper. I’ve been working since I was a child, going at dawn, resting at home at noon, finishing in the vineyards at night. I’m from Szekszárd, a winegrower, a vine grower, a farmer.” With these few sentences he introduced himself to us. János Márkvárt, when we tasted his first wines many years ago. Since then we have visited him every few months in the Gyűszű valley, we know his way of speaking, we have seen him expanding his cellar dug into the loess of Szekszárd with his own hands, using a pick. We have raced alongside him several times in the gorges of Szekszárd, and one of these dűlőt tours has become as legendary as his fresh and light kadarka, which is a real thirst-quencher in the heat, while at the same time it is characterful in every detail.

Few people know that, in terms of proportions, it is a very special and delicious drink. János Márkvárt is one of the most dedicated Kadark producers in Szekszárd: while the variety is grown on 100 hectares of the 2100 hectares of the wine region, Jani grows it on more than a quarter of his small estate. In addition – and this is where we come to the point – some of these vines are old, nearly planted and „the old root is not wrong”, says János Márkvárt, Jr.

On less than half a hectare, planted among nearly 100-year-old caducas, apple and pear trees. This Sauli is the oldest of all the Marquart areas. It is a great asset that can be maintained with passion and many hours spent in the vineyard. Jani and I agreed in 2021 that he would not use his harvest to make annual Kadarkas, but would return to the established techniques of slow winemaking. The organically farmed grapes were hand-harvested and fermented spontaneously in open vats, then matured in two 500-litre Hungarian barrels until the next harvest.

Unfiltered bottling, January 2023.

1300 bottles were made.

Vegyes Vörös

This is where János Márkvárt Jr’s Szekszárd wine starts: a „mixed red” wine with a pure taste, fermented from organically cultivated grapes. This is the dialect of the wine-growing region to refer to the fresh, blended reds that are fresher than bikavér. So we started using this name as a working title, and at the end of the collective rebranding, we also wrote it on the label for its unsearchable simplicity.

Jani’s key areas and varieties come together in this wine. Baranya valley and Faluhely vineyards, where the youngest vines have been growing for 22 years and the oldest for 43 years, organically farmed since 2020. At the end of the torrid, cicada-ridden vineyard work, manual harvesting in September, followed by fermentation in tanks in the cellar after the grape harvest, with daily racking and round-necking. After pressing, the grapes are matured until the next harvest in tanks and in the cellar’s 10 hectares of barrels, which are many years old. The final blend is half syrah, a third blue franc, with merlot and cadarka only spices. A solid entry in the range, a real thirst quencher from Szekszárd. Mediterranean feel, pomegranate colour, explosive fruit, cherry juice nose, tight structure, layered flavours and subtly tart palate. All is well when the base wine is this fine. March 2023.

"M" 2020

M for Márkvárt.

The origin of János’s selection, a selection of the best barrels, a business card from the winemaker. This year, half of his wines are kékfrankos, thirty percent cabernet sauvignon, ten kadarka, and the remaining five to five merlot and syrah. Baranya Valley and Faluhely vineyards, organically farmed since 2020. The separately fermented varieties were blended six months after harvest, followed by a year of ageing in large ace barrels and a further year and a half in bottle. While Jani’s two blends, the „Mixed Red” is the uncut version, the raw power, this wine is much more about vinous fine-tuning, selection, finesse, ageing and rounded edges. A spicy, deep and polished style. The palate is almost soft on structure, but the subtly tart finish, typical of the winemaker, is not lost here. There was no question that this wine would be the central label of the estate’s new identity.

„I grew up here, I know every ravine, vineyard and reaper. I’ve been working since I was a child, going at dawn, relaxing at home at noon, finishing in the vineyards at night. I’m from Szekszárd, a winegrower, a vine grower, a farmer.” With these few sentences he introduced himself to us. János Márkvárt many years ago, when we tasted his first wines. Since then we have been visiting him every few months in the Gyűszű Valley. We have followed his wines, shaped his selection together, we know his way of speaking, and we have also seen how he expands his cellar, dug into the loess of Szekszárd, with his own hands and a pick.