Kancellár Estate
Somló
A young estate with huge impact
Kancellár Birtok is one of the youngest wineries in the Greater Somló wine region. Ferenc Horváth, Chancellor of the Somló and Environs Wine Route Association and Order of Wine Knights, together with his family members, launched the wine estate of Somló and its surroundings in 2014, which were then 11 hectares, now cultivating grapes on 22 hectares and producing characteristic wines from Somló. “Making Somló wine should only be done responsibly. We are committed to the place of production, the terroir. In addition to the geological, climatic and other conditions, we believe that terroir includes the respect and rich experience of the people who work here.”
Black varieties are also grown
The vineyards stretch across the mountain ridge from southwest to northeast in renowned vineyards (Szent Ilona, Ragalja, Séd, Szent Márton) in excellent locations. We harvest Juhfark, Hárslevelű, Furmint and Olaszrizling grapes from our “old” vines. The newly planted Irsai Olivér, Cserszegi Fűszeres, Kékfrankos and Cabernet Franc vines have started to bear fruit recently.
Our cellar has 1,100 hl of fermentation and storage space, with refrigerated and heated stainless-steel tanks. Our wines are bottled, sealed and labelled on site, on our own bottling line. In 2018, our winery underwent major developments: we increased our storage capacity and expanded with a wooden barrel fermentation and ageing cellar. We built a new grape processing area, a bottle ageing cellar, and a warehouse for the finished products.
What does ChatGPT have to do with a wine?
Though Kancellár is a young estate, it has collected several important international accolades from contest like Decanter World Wine Awards, Mundus Vini, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, etc. The Somló winery was all over the international wine press when, in May 2025 it was selected the best white wine of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles – an incredible success for a Hungarian white wine.
When a wine comes from the volcanic Somló, our smallest wine region, in Hungarian we can say it is ‘somlói’ or, in a bit rural or archaic way we can say it is ‘somlai’. However, the capital letters ‘AI’ clearly refer to Artificial Intelligence, with reason. It is a result of a pioneering experience: the owner’s son entered all the data of the grapes in ChatGPT, and the programme responded with 22 pages, giving instructions regarding the proportion of the wines in the blend. The result is a Furmint-based blend with Hárslevelű, Juhfark and a hint of Cserszegi Fűszeres.
Tasting note: “Straw yellow colour, appealing, fresh nose. Linden flower, tropical flowers and citrus fruits are abundant and coexist in harmony. Medium body, mineral notes and refreshing, white flesh fruits on the palate. The finish is zesty and youthful as well. Blended by AI and aged in bottle by us.”
No wonder, 2021 vintage of SomlAI was sold out quickly.
Contact
Somlójenő, hrsz 1080/2, 8478, Hungary
kancellarbirtok.hu
Gyula Bertalan export manager
bertalan.gyula@kancellarbirtok.hu
Tel.: 00 36 70 276 5268
Kancellár Olaszrizling 2022
Kancellár Nagy-Somlói Juhfark 2021
Kancellár Irsai Olivér 2024
Kancellár Somlói Furmint 2022
Golden hue, suggests a matured wine. Ripened, mineral aromas with some petrol notes. Firm acidity, but perfectly in balance with the masculine, full-bodied wine. Toasted almonds and citrus on the palate, followed by marzipan and grapefruit on the finish. It lingers long, continuously revealing new depths. A wine for patient and wise people.
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