Description
Károly Kolonics, the winemaker/owner of the Kolonics Winery names his barrels, and bottles the wines accordingly. “St. László” is the name of the barrel in which this wine was aged. It’s hard for us to keep up with all of the barrel-named wines that Kolonics produces, but this is exactly why we love his wines! They are truly unique. Kolonics can produce up to six different Olaszrizlings from the same vintage, each aged in a different style. He always produces the wines in a certain way—with six to 12 hours of skin contact before pressing, using only indigenous yeast, and a long oak aging. He uses mostly big barrels (1,000 or 1,500 liters) that are quite old, usually 10 to 20 years old. This Olaszrizling was aged in the St. Laszló—a 1,500-liter, steam-bent oak cask—for a year. The grapes are from the Ápátság vineyard, one of Somló’s premier vineyards, which has a perfect southern exposure. Kolonics’ wines are the perfect example of Somló’s volcanic terroir. Showing the region’s typical strong flavors, his wines are mineral, salty, intense, concentrated, rich, and tropical. Textbook Somló style. This Olaszrizling has aromas of dried sage, lavender, toast, and flint. On the palate, it is rich, intense, and ripe, with a distinct volcanic minerality. We are big fans of this new face of Olaszrizling. Enjoy it next to grilled vegetables, creamy pastas, and smoked meats.
