Bence Szilágyi had his first taste of natural wine in Berlin at Jaja, Neukölln’s well-loved bar and bistro. Inspired by this approach to winemaking and the diversity of flavour it offered, he left his more conventional wine studies behind and began to visit low intervention wineries, tasting and exchanging ideas on vinification and farming. Bence made his first, unofficial vintage in 2017, in a cellar dug into limestone bedrock beneath his family home in Barnag, western Hungary. What started as an experiment of just 400 bottles slowly grew, and Bence has since relocated to a 200-year-old stone barn, now converted into a winery. Still a relatively small producer, Bence works with around 5 hectares of grapes, half from vineyards he rents and farms himself while the other half are purchased from a local negociant farmer; an ongoing relationship which gives Bence a fuller understanding of the grapes and vineyards. Buying land in this area is almost impossible, with real estate prices driven up by Lake Balaton’s popularity as a tourist destination. Varieties include Riesling, Furmint, Kékfrankos (known as Blaufränkisch in Austria and Lemberger in Germany), Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, and the vineyards are predominantly limestone, with one plot on volcanic soil. Bence takes a no-till approach unusual for the area, relying on naturally occurring flora as cover crop.
2023 was one of Bence’s favourite harvests to date, a lengthy harvest that stretched over almost two months. Although hard work as always, there was time to swim and sail on Lake Balaton and, come October, the last grapes were picked without any risk of overripeness and still with a crisp acidity. The Riesling for Diszkó 2023 was harvested a week apart at the end of September, the majority direct-pressed and a small amount given 24 hours skin contact to add an aromatic complexity. Furmint, a Hungarian grape variety which makes up the other 50%, was picked in several rounds between late September and mid October. The result? Floral and fruit-driven Riesling aged in stainless steel and oak meets the depth of Furmint from oak barrels in a harmonious, delightful bottle. Drink chilled.