Less Fruit, Full Barrels – Our 2026 Harvest in Villány
If you asked me how this year’s harvest went, I’d say it was neither an outstanding vintage nor a bad one. Some vineyards performed much as they usually do, while others really felt the lack of water. We’re already tasting and watching the new wines, but I wouldn’t rush to give the vintage a final verdict. Let them settle a little first. They’ll have more to tell us in time.
Unfortunately, drought has become a familiar visitor here. It has made our work harder for several years now, and it keeps reminding us just how different our vineyards are. One site can still have enough moisture, while another just a few kilometres away is struggling. It may be the same vintage, but the conditions we work with can be quite different.
We were lucky with frost this year
Frost spared our vineyards this year. And yes, I’m knocking on wood as I write that. We’re fortunate to work with some well-situated vineyards on the southern slopes of the hills between Villány and Siklós, but I wouldn’t want to suggest that nothing can ever catch us by surprise.
We had no significant hail damage either. There was some minor damage on our Siklós sites, affecting a few per cent of the crop, but overall, we have little to complain about on that front. The biggest challenge was once again the lack of water.
Some vineyards gave us half their usual crop
Our sites with better access to water produced around 10–12 tonnes per hectare, which is perfectly normal for those vineyards. In our premium vineyards, we deliberately keep yields lower, usually harvesting around 5–6 tonnes per hectare. This year, however, some sites gave us just 2–3 tonnes.
Overall, we harvested roughly 60–70 per cent of our usual volume. That is a noticeable difference, of course, but alongside quantity, we always look closely at the fruit coming into the cellar. Several of our lower-yielding vineyards produced very concentrated grapes. There’s plenty of substance there, and our job now is to turn that potential into balanced, enjoyable wines.
And yes, let’s talk about alcohol
The latest laboratory results show that several of our new wines have alcohol levels above 15%. The Portugieser, which was the first wine we submitted for approval, needed 15% on its label. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t particularly happy about that. With Portugieser, I also love the easy-drinking character that makes you want another glass.
But I can’t decide when to harvest based on alcohol alone.
I go out into the vineyard, taste the grapes, look at the skins and seeds, assess the flavours, and consider the analytical results alongside all of that. Picking earlier simply to achieve lower alcohol can mean missing the ripeness I want to see in the finished wine. We have to weigh that decision separately for each vineyard.
We work with the conditions Villány gives us while looking for the balance we believe in. I want to preserve the fruit and make wines that are a pleasure to drink. That is guiding our work with this year’s wines too.
Villány adottságaihoz alkalmazkodunk, közben pedig keressük azt az egyensúlyt, amiben mi is hiszünk. Szeretném, hogy a gyümölcsösség megmaradjon, és a bort jó legyen inni. Az idei tételeknél is ez vezeti a pincemunkát.
There’s plenty happening in the cellar
We harvested less fruit, but we still have a healthy stock of red wines in the cellar, and the barrels are filling up nicely. At the moment, I feel there’s a good balance between the wine coming in and the wine going out. We have wines to work on, wines to mature, and bottles steadily finding their way to customers.
In fact, based on the number of bottles sold so far, this could become one of the most successful years in the estate’s history. Given the current state of the wine market, that feels particularly good to say. I’m pleased, and I’m grateful to everyone who chooses our wines, comes back to visit us, or recommends us to someone else.
Meanwhile, we keep working. Building our family brand matters a great deal to me, as does finding the right restaurants and partners to represent our wines and the family behind them. The harvest is finished, but there’s still plenty to do in the cellar. And I’m looking forward to seeing how these wines develop before we get to taste them together.
I have been thinking a lot about alcohol levels lately.
How much attention do you pay to alcohol levels when choosing a wine?
0%I always check, and it influences my choice.
0%I check, but flavour and the occasion matter more.
0%I don’t usually pay much attention.
Thank you for reading and for following our journey!
Our new motto: Pure flavours, crafted with care.
Warm regards,
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