Description

The region’s signature grape variety is Juhfark, and Somló is the only place where this white grape – named after the sheep-tail shape of the bunch – is grown in meaningful quantities. Uprooted by the communists because it is disease-prone and difficult, it has become synonymous with Somló this century. Around the dormant volcano you will taste it in a variety of styles. Local winemakers have mixed feelings about the variety. This is because Juhfark requires four times the work of other varieties. “Juhfark is hard work, but if you work hard, your wine is good. It has fine acidity and a special feeling.”Juhfark is a distinctive white grape variety found almost exclusively in Somló. The clusters are long, tightly packed and curve a little at the end hence the sheep’s tail moniker. Naturally very high in acidity, it’s also fairly neutral on its own and instead absorbs and shows fidelity to the mineral spring water that flows from inside the extinct volcano. With only 4 hours of skin maceration, it’s then fermented in 1000L Hungarian Oak barrels followed by 10 months on the lees in the same vessels. It’s then moved to 500 and 1500 liter tanks for reductive aging for a minimum of two years before bottling. No racking and no stirring. It’s the ultimate yin and yang wine in that it is at once rich, opulent and elegant but has such prominent veins of volcanic ash and minerality running through it at the same time. Like a Caligulan feast in a glass. For those seeking cool climate intensely volcanic whites, this is a benchmark.