Wassmann, 2016 Cabernet Franc, Villány, Pannon, Hungary
The Wassmann wine estate was established in 2002 by Ralf Wassmann and Susann Hanauer, who are both German. The Villány region actually has a lot of historical connections with Germany, when a large wave of German settlers arrived to the region during the mid 18th century. With them they brought the grape Portugieser grape, which became one of the most important historical varieties for the region. And it was Ralf and Susann's curiosity about the connection with Villány and Portugieser that brought them to the region, and why they chose to settle here to set up their winery.
Now of course as wine professionals and students, the only part we generally learn about Hungarian wine is of course Tokaji. So where is Villány in relation to Tokaji? We are in the deep in the southern part of Hungary, about 345 km ( 215 mi ) southwest of Tokaji. Only about 10km north north of the Drava River which marks the border with Croatia.
The region stretches 25km along the south-facing slopes of the Villány hills and has about 2400 hectares under vine. The region's climate is considered continental with Mediterranean influences. It receives the most sunshine hours of all of Hungary - about 2100 sunshine hours per year. And these sunshine hours combined with the long, warm growing season make Villány the premier red wine growing region in Hungary.
In terms of soils, the region's bedrock is comprised of layers of limestones and dolomite that date from the triassic, jurassic and the cretaceous periods in history. The topsoil is mostly clay mixed with loess, which is light, almost dusty wind-derived sediments that can range in depth from just a few metres and upward to 20m depending on the site.
So where does Cabernet Franc fit into all of this. Well in fact Cabernet Franc has a long history in the region. Villány was the home of Zsigmond Teleki, an historically important vine rootstock breeder, he developed the Berlandieri x Riparia rootstock in 1887, which has become important for grafting vinifera on more vigorous as well as calcareous soils. Post-phylloxera, Teleki established an experimental vineyard to test the grafting technique on his rootstocks, and among the varieties planted were some international varieties, like Cabernet Franc, in addition to native Hungarian varieties. As a result of Teleki's work, Villány was one of the first grape growing regions in Hungary to be replanted after phylloxera. And today, Cabernet Franc has become well adapted to the region and represents 15% of all grapes planted.
In fact, the region of Villány is hanging their hat on Cabernet Franc as a flagship variety for the region, so much so that they have established a separate appellation of origin for Cabernet Franc from the region, known as Villányi Franc. The appellation was created in 2014 and applies to 100% Cabernet Franc wines that meet lower yield parameters of a maximum 35hl/ha, as well as specific aging requirements both in barrel and bottle.
Now, for today's wine, this is coming from a 0.4ha parcel of Cabernet Franc vines planted in 2007. It is from a single vineyard called Hidegkút, which is in the village of Siklós, which is in a slightly cooler part of Villány. The vineyard is towards the top of the hill, at about 225m above sea level. And again, we are on that limestone bedrock with only about 2m of loess and clay in the topsoil.
From a winemaking perspective, the fruit was all hand picked, destemmed, fermented in open top wood fermenters with indigenous yeast. It spent about 30 days on skins, with punchdowns only during the active fermentation. Aging was done in Hungarian and french oak for about 20 months before bottling.
I should also mention that the Wassmann wine estate was the first winery in Villány to receive organic certification in 2003, and they received Demeter certification in 2011.
Key wine wine facts below:
Producer: Weingut Wassmann
Region: Pannon
Wine District: Villány
Village: Siklós
Vineyard: Hidegkút
Soil: 2m of leoss/löss and clay, over a bedrock of limestone and dolostone
Alcohol: 14.0%
