Bott Frigyes isn’t one of those shouty, iconoclastic, hipper-than-thou producers. In fact, father-and-son duo Bott and Frici are pretty much the opposite, minding a 10-hectare biodynamic estate in the southwest corner of Slovakia with the intention of putting their region – and Central European wines, more broadly – on the map. On top of growing grapes, they also run a very schmick guest house and a small, locally minded natural wine bar and shop in Komarno.
The region itself – known as North Pannonia and outlined by the Hron and Danube Rivers and the Muzsla Hills – is famed for traditional varieties like furmint, harslevelu, kekfrankos and olaszrizling among others, Soils are limestone-rich and made up of volcanic clay, and winemaking is largely carried out the old-fashioned way, which is to say without temperature control, fining or filtration in old oak or amphora with hand-crushing, foot-stomping and longer lees aging in play. Love to see it.
There’s no flagship here, but if there was the 2022 Furmint would likely be the one. Understated, yet still charged with flavours of orchard fruits, citrus peel, chamomile tea, dried herbs and crushed slate. There’s a whisper of sweetness, but it’s levelled out by mouthwatering acidity and a long, tonic-like finish. A tonic, indeed. The skinsy 2022 Olaszrizling (AKA welschriesling) occupies a somewhat similar niche, albeit with more idiosyncrasies and pronounced hits of apple and pear, orange rind, honey, almonds and even coriander.
Roughly 90 kilometres north, Mahrek Unak is doing similar things at Pivnica Cajkov, his centuries-old family winery at the foothills of the Stiavnica Mountains. He works mostly with pesecka leanka, a muscat-like grape that thrives in the area’s volcanic soils and takes especially well to skin contact. And the 2022 Rustical is proof, a grainy-textured wine in full bloom that’s all chewy apricots, lemon balm, potpourri aromatics and grapefruit-peel acidity. Glory be.