A New Colour on Jammertal Wine Estate’s Palette

 Producing a limited - edition big red is every winemaker’s dream.

 Ars Poetica Pinot Noir 2017 is yet another new star in JWE’s internationally listed portfolio.

An interview with Zsófia Kövesdi, the estate’s leading winemaker, about the new release.

Where did the idea for Ars Poetica come from?

I’ve always wanted to express my own philosophy about wine. I think that’s every real winemaker’s desire.

Jammertal Wine Estate has developed its own approach based on many years of experience.

For both our Cassiopeia and Koh-I-Noor brands the varietal composition and the style are basically determined. These wines are internationally recognized and sought after.

In their case my main job is to design the wines based on particular customer requirements, adapting to the characteristics of a particular vintage, and produce the confirmed variants with professional precision.

I won’t go into detail, but creating the harmony of taste, character, alcohol and contents is always a real challenge.

This is a process similar of the practice of a fashion house that costume tailors its creations intended for sale to its individual clientele.

A deep knowledge of used materials is mandatory. The technical and artistic challenges of the given model must be understood. The satisfaction of the wearer of the garment must be ensured.

However, from time to time every designer with high standards comes up with a “ design concepts ”. That is what a creative winemaker would do, too.

Those concepts often appear as prototypes to present and test new ideas.

Either only a limited number of them would be produced or they would be turned into successful series. 

Ars Poetica Pinot Noir 2017

What sort of wine did you have in your mind? What was the idea?

Nowadays Bordeaux varieties are the most popular and we place our primary business emphasis on them.

Of course, great wines can also be produced from other grape varieties that would not represent the commercial mainstream. 

Creating the Ars Poetica brand I wished to present wines that would express my love and commitment to the art of wine.

 Pinot Noir is a difficult variety which fact contributes a lot to its beauty.

It is a great pleasure to me that my first Ars Poetica item is made of Pinot Noir.

I promise it won’t be a disappointment.

Do you consider this wine as an important milestone in your winemaker’s carrier?

With this series we struck out in a new direction. We wanted to show something out of the ordinary.

I hope that the public will like it very much. I can’t wait for the feedback.

What was the biggest challenge that you had to solve when making this wine?

Conceiving precisely what message the finished wine should convey.

I’ll explain what I mean with an easy-to-understand comparison from the world of cinema. 

There is a well-known plot: marauding bandits, helpless villagers, heroes who save them.

The classic adaptation is Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.

For the general – Western – Hemisphere - public, Sturges’ adaptation, The Magnificent Seven became far more popular.

Then the story had been made “ consumable “ for the 21st century, hence Fuqua’s remake starring Denzel Washington.

 

Zsófia Kövesdi, head winemaker, and Zsolt Nagy, vineyard manager

No analogy can be perfect, but the subject of Pinot Noir grape intrigued me the same way.

The classic presentation of the variety is the cooler Burgundian style.

Pinot noir, however, has appealed to a far wider circle of wine - lovers with its more ingratiating face if grown in warmer climates. Just remember the leap in popularity for the variety brought by the movie Sideways.

I wanted to make a Pinot Noir that was a great red wine in itself AND in which all the characteristics and positive qualities that make the variety truly special could be found.

On top of it all this in the form of an easy-to-drink, very enjoyable wine.

The wine - lover of our days is less concerned about the typical varietal attributes. What really matters is the taste and overall quality of a wine.

I wished to reveal the merits of Pinot Noir in an appealing form. I wanted to open a door to this variety for the discerning younger generation.

Did you get assistance to realize your project?

Ewell, in this private little enterprise of mine I had the unwavering support of everyone who works at the Jammertal Wine Estate.

The owners accepted the idea of making a high - end Pinot Noir right from the beginning. That meant a great deal to me. The project clearly involved financial risks.

 

Premium wine, a pleasure every day

 How would you describe the wine?

First impressions in the nose are dark chocolate and dried cherries mixed with sweet spices like cloves.

After a few minutes of airing you would detect a slight cardamom scent.

On the palate those aromas would evolve with fiery, mouth-filling complexity. Leading feature is blackberry.

The wine’s medium acidity is in perfect balance with the alcohol, both blended into the texture.

Its finish is dominated by very elegant chocolate.

Which part of winemaking do you consider as arts?

Conceiving the final form of the wine, its conception in theory, that is what I call artistic achievement.

The rest is production, which is craft, not arts, that depends on the winemaker’s competence and experience.

How many bottles of this wine were made?

Of our Pinot Noir vineyards, a 1.7 - hectare area in Diósviszló suited our purposes. It produced 5,788 bottles.

What did you learn during this particular venture?

You must pay attention to your own capabilities when designing a wine.

In the process of making the wine you must not diverge from the plan no matter how enticing anything may be at a given moment.

Be patient, wait and trust your own knowledge. That is the secret recipe.

Now, when you hold the wine, how do you feel?

I feel proud.

What’s in store next?

I have a beautiful Mediterranean Syrah in my mind.

But before that, Ars Poetica Chardonnay 2020, another concept of mine will be presented to the public in the fall of this year.

 

Zsófia Kövesdi, Jammertal Wine Estate’s leading winemaker, studied in France and Portugal. 

She gained practices in California, Australia, Portugal and New Zealand.

In her view, tradition should adapt modern technology and a winemaker should strive to incorporate it into existing systems at a high level.  The Ars Poetica series are based on her conceptions.

We look forward to seeing how that progressive mentality represented by her would result in great wines in the coming decades.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pre-ordering Cassiopeia Merlot 2015

Jammertal Wine Estate Villány Big Red Becomes World’s Best

Designer Wine: A Precedent Setting Invention of Jammertal Wine Estate