Sebestyén Winery

Szekszárd Region

The Sebestyén Winery is a 30-acre family estate run by siblings, Csaba and Csilla Sebestyén. Csaba founded the family winery while Csilla was in Dublin working as a sommelier in a two-star Michelin restaurant. After a few years she returned to Hungary and joined her brother in the family winery. Her international experience helped the winery shift its focus from making wines with international varieties, rather to local varieties. They focus on the Kékfrankos variety, which is the backbone of most of their blends—including the famous Bikavér (Bull’s blood) wines from the Szekszárd region. Their goal is to produce (mostly) single-vineyard, elegant wines, which have a balanced oak influence and a strong varietal expression. This is a very Burgundian philosophy. Their vineyard land is divided among five different premium locations in the region: Iván-Völgy, Görögszó, Nána, Szentgál, and Porkoláb-Völgy.

Indigo (Zweigelt), 2020

Zweigelt is a crossing of the Kékfrankos grape—called Blaufrankisch in Austria—and the St. Laurent grape. It is best known in Austria, where it was developed in 1922 in the Klosterneuburg Viticultural Institute near Vienna. In Hungary, the variety was first planted in the Sopron region, just across the Austrian border. Then it was brought to several other regions, including Eger, Mátra, and Szekszárd. Indigo is a 100 percent Zweigelt wine, and everything about it comes as a surprise. First the color: it’s a beautiful and intense inky purple wine with hints of blue. Then the nose: it has blueberry, bubblegum, cherry candy, and Szechuan pepper. The surprises continue on the palate: it has juicy blackberries, black pepper, and cherry candy flavors, with very gentle tannins, and just enough acidity. This wine (12.5 percent alcohol) comes from 10 year-old Zweigelt vines in the Szentgál vineyard. There was cluster selection in the vineyard, then it was tank-fermented, and aged for six months. This wine is a light face of the Austrian-born Zweigelt variety, and is dangerously easy to drink. It’s a fruit bomb, which is best enjoyed slightly chilled as an aperitif, or next to charcuterie and cheeses. A good movie also makes a fine companion for this wine.

BUY NOW

Nánai Kékfrankos, 2018

This pure Kékfrankos comes from the Nánai vineyard, located on a plateau south of the town of Szekszárd. The vineyard, planted 15 years ago, is less than an acre. Its colder, windier climate means that it produces elegant wines with a lower alcohol content and crisp acidity. Csilla Sebestyén joined her brother, Csaba, in the family winery after working for several years as a sommelier in a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Dublin. Csilla brought an international viewpoint to the winery, shifting its focus from international varieties to local ones. “This is my sister’s wine,” explained Csaba. “She came up with the idea for this wine, and she does the final barrel selection.” Csilla has also confessed that of all their wines, this is her favorite. It is aged in used 500 liter Hungarian and French barrels for 19 months. No new oak barrels are used, as to not mask the great potential of the Kékfrankos variety behind oak. The nose explodes with the classic Kékfrankos aromas of currants, red plums, black pepper, and sour cherry. There is also an elegant and well-integrated touch of oaky aromas, like leather, tobacco, and sweet spices. The wine has a juicy acidity with gentle tannins, and a very long finish. Csilla calls this wine the “real princess” of the winery. And she is absolutely right!

SOLD OUT

Porkoláb-Völgy Franc, 2017

This wine comes from the southwestern-facing Porkoláb Valley vineyard. “This vineyard has an elegant, friendly, and softer personality,” said Csaba Sebestyén, owner and winemaker. “It can retain freshness even in warm years, and it never produces jammy and overly alcoholic wines.” The vineyard has an unusually high content of lime in the soil, along with red clay. Csaba said this explains the fineness and freshness of the wines. This pure Cabernet Franc comes from a two-acre plot, which was planted eight years ago. The wine was aged for 18 months in Hungarian oak barrels (40 percent of them were new). The light elegance of this wine (which is 14 percent alcohol) begins with its color, a translucent shade of ruby-red. On the nose, the oak aromas are nicely blended with flowers and fruit. Leather, tobacco, and ripe blackberries dominate, followed by black cherries, plum, and violets. This is definitely a dry wine, though at first taste it has an almost sweet sensation, with ripe blackberries and plums. It’s a ripe, but not jammy, wine. With time, the oak flavors increase on the palate, showing dark chocolate, cigar, tobacco, and leather flavors. The classic bell-pepper aroma that Cabernet Franc typically has is present in a very shy and elegant manner. The tannins are gentle, and so well-integrated that one can almost forget the wine has them. This is an interesting face of Cabernet Franc. Complex, but approachable. Light, but age-worthy.

SOLD OUT

Grádus Cuvée, 2015

Grádus means “step,” and this wine represents a new step for the Sebestyén winery. It symbolizes their determination for producing better wines year after year, and their increasingly intimate knowledge of their vineyards. This “Grádus” blend has a twist: it is based on Merlot (65 percent) and Cabernet Franc (30 percent), spiced up with small amounts of Sagrantino (three percent) and Kékfrankos (two percent). “The Kékfrankos helps balance the alcohol level and gives a nice, crisp acidity to the blend,” explained winemaker Csaba Sebestyén. “Sagrantino brings tannins and lovely floral and violet aromas.” The grapes come from 16 to 20 year old vines located in four different vineyards. Of all of Sebestyén’s wines, this one is aged for the longest—three and a half years—before its release. It gets 22 months of oak aging in half new barrels, followed by one and a half years of bottle aging. On the nose, it explodes with balsamic fruit, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, flowers, and blackberries. It has elegant and addictive aromas, which are so complex that it feels almost perfumey. On the palate, the wine has developed flavors of truffles, tobacco, brandied-cherries, and dried leaves. It has juicy acidity, rich body, and strong, but well-integrated tannins. It’s the perfect wine for a nice steak dinner: elegant and strong (14 percent alcohol), but easy drinking.

SOLD OUT