Rosé Cuvée Villány, Heumann 2023

Erhard Heumann is originally from Bavaria in southern Germany and worked as a banker in Zurich for many years before retiring. So how did he and his wife Evelyne end up owning a winery in Villany, not all that far from Hungary’s border with Croatia? It all began when Erhard’s father-in-law visited the area on business in 1995 and returned to announce to his no doubt surprised family that he had acquired a lease on a wine estate in Hungary. Since 1995 the family, from beginnings as hobby winemakers, have built up an estate of their own as well as buying in grapes from local growers.

The couple live in a house in the centre of their seven hectares of vineyards, a mixture of loess and clay with some limestone and dolomite, all on south-facing slopes. They have planted the vines at a high density to encourage lower yields, and harvest at a much lower yield than required by the Districtus Hungariucus Controllatum system (the local appellation controlee equivalent) requires them to. 90% of their wines qualify for the DAC designation.

They grow a variety of grapes including the local kekfrankos and the French introduction cabernet franc and from these two they make what are arguably their best wines. Fermentation is in stainless steel and the wines then spend some time in a mix of old and new oak for 12 to 14 months before bottling.

Villany is widely regarded as Hungary’s premium red-wine-growing region and the Heumanns are doing their level best to prove it.