‘Szívem’ means ‘My heart’ and it is the name of a parcel of Baranya-völgy vineyard (Szekszárd wine region). For someone in the past that 1.5 hectare parcel of land must have meant a lot to give such an emotional name. And Szívem with its old vines (planted in 1969) is still avigorous and gives outstanding fruit.

What
100% Kékfrankos (known as Blaufrankisch in Austria), an indigenous black grape of the Carpathian basin. Hungary has over 8000 hectares of Kékfrankos, which makes it the most widely planted black grape of Hungary.
How
Spontaneous fermentation, delicate extraction, pressed without pumping after 24 days of skin contact. Barrel ageing for 8 months in large, 1000 L Hungarian barrels.

Why
Kékfrankos is a great grape variety with potential to give super elegant, complex fruity wines. Zoltán Heimann developed a special fermentaion method, which resulted extra freshness and outsdanding varietal character: “After sorting, the grapes received were partially processed with whole bunches and fermented with our own yeast flora. The fermented grape marc, including the stalks, was fed into the press as gently as possible, so we used a double manual operation with a shovel and a big box instead of a pump.”
Stuart Pigott, wine writer of JamesSuckling.com has tasted the wine recently and rated it 96 points. “There’s a touch of spritz here in the first moment, but it helps to energize this remarkable kekfrankos. Fantastic interplay of elderberry, smoky and wet-earth character in the nose. Remarkable concentration and vitality are packed into a very sleek silhouette on the very focused palate. Very fine tannins are married to mineral acidity that lights up the sky at the explosive, positively dry finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2024.”

What to pair with
Heimann Stifolder-plate, mangalitsa salami with red wine and whole pepper, deer salami, aged ham, pickled garden vegetables (Heimann Birtokbisztró)

Where and how much
– Heimann & Fiai wines are available in several countries: Hungary, North America, UK and Ireland, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Singapore, Korea.
– In Europe the price is about 30–35 euros.
– At the estate it costs 9800 HUF (around 24 euros).
The 20th of January is an ideal date to visit the estate, since Heimann family awaits guests with a special St Vincent Day dinner.
More information here.

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