Bencze, Virgo 2020 750ml

Personality: Elegant, velvety and deep.

Vineyard: Lower part of the Rókalyuki site. The soil there is mainly clay, sand and sandstone, with much less basalt than in the upper parts of the vineyard. Planted in 1999, estate-owned and biodynamically farmed by István himself (Demeter-certified)

Making of: Hand harvest. The grapes were carefully pressed as whole clusters, then the juice was racked into 228 L French barrels. After fermentation, the barrels were refilled only to 95% full, leaving an empty space to allow the flor yeast to develop. Aged on the lees for 9 months with no batonnage, bottled without fining, filtration, and without added sulfur (total SO2 10ppm).

Winemaker's Note: “We first made a Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs in 2014, after an extremely rainy vintage. Although the resulting ’Virgo 2014’ was quite popular, we didn’t make any other vintages in the following years because of its style. However, after tasting a nice Coteaux Champenois, we decided to give the clairet a try again. Compared to the 2014 vintage, we put emphasis on sharper, higher acidity with a more sophisticated use of barrels, and reinterpreted it as a natural wine.”