“Fred’s more elegant brother,” in Zsolti’s own words. Old-vine Frankovka (aka Blaufränkisch). Handpicked between September and October, destemmed but not crushed. Fermented for a few weeks in open casks with gentle stirring by hand, no added selected yeasts or other additives, no temperature control. The free-run juice spent 7 months in old 220-liter oak barrels. Blended and rested for a month together. Bottled by gravity without fining, filtration or SO2 the following summer.

Strekov 1075

Zsolt Sütó cultivates 12 hectares of vines in the village of Strekov, in Slovakia. The vineyards are located on the terraces of Pohronska pahorkatina, featuring ponds and marshland that create a unique microclimate. The top layer of soil consists of clay-loam, which lays above the marine sediments, sandstone, and limestone veins. Deeper soil layers consist of yellow and blue-gray clay. Zsolt’s fermentations take place in open-topped barrels with no sulfur and no intervention, he also uses a lot of skin maceration, aging under voile to create naturally strong and stable wines. As of the 2017 vintage. Zsolt was very happy to vinify and bottle all of his wines with zero additions of sulfur.