Badacsony winery Villa Sandahl
is the winner of Par Excellence
Badacsony, 16 December 2020
The Hungarian Sommelier Association awarded its Par Excellence prize for the seventh time this year, and the Villa Sandahl winery in Badacsony won the producer category. The winery, which produces Riesling almost exclusively, was founded in 2004 by the Swedish Sandahl brothers.
The wines are produced using Hungarian expertise: Sándor Mező and Ambrus Bakó were previously responsible for the viticulture and winemaking work, while Zsolt Palkó has been responsible for all this since 2014. Their vision is nothing less than to produce world-renowned wines from their Badacsony vineyards. Villa Sandahl would like to thank the Hungarian Sommelier Association for their recognition and, at the same time, congratulate the other category winners: Budapest wine merchant Borvár, St Andrea Winery’s Budapest restaurant, wine writer Zoltán Győrffy and teacher Péter Flórián Hegedűs.
The Hungarian Sommelier Association awards the Par Excellence prize to those Hungarian companies and professionals whose successful, high-quality work contributes effectively to improving the quality of Hungarian restaurant culture, including beverage consumption, as well as widely promoting theoretical and practical knowledge.
“We are really honoured and delighted that the Hungarian Sommelier Association has awarded us the Par Excellence prize for the producer category this year. Rest assured that we will continue to uphold the winery’s high standards in the future and will also make even greater efforts in our work towards our vision of making world-renowned wines in Badacsony and further promoting this wonderful region! – said Christer Sandahl, winery co-owner.
The Villa Sandahl winery has been making wine since 2004 on Badacsony Hill, the highest volcanic butte on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. As a result of a long learning process and accumulation of experience, Swedish owners (Gunnel, Christer and Thord Sandahl) are expert and passionate wine tasters. After tasting and learning about the great diversity of wines in the world, it gradually became clear to them what characteristics should contribute to the evolution of a unique, high-quality Badacsony wine style.
Although they had already visited Badacsony in 1987 and had not yet entertained the idea of establishing a winery, they decided to do so after a later joint family visit when the Sandahl family discovered vineyards, including the former Esterházy and Ranolder estates on Badacsony Hill, which they felt had outstanding potential on an international level too.
The early years were years of experimentation, with varieties, vineyards and technologies. They needed to find a late-ripening variety that would retain its acidity at full maturity despite the searing summer heat, as they were aware that both the Badacsony micro climate and the southern exposure of the vineyards resulted in most white varieties producing unbalanced wines. Riesling fitted these prerequisites perfectly, so they gradually head-grafted or replanted the vines.
The initial three-hectare estate has now grown to ten hectares in the Kezdet (Genesis), Magány Solitude), Püspökudvár (Bishop backyard), Ekkő (Gem stone), Püspökkert (Bishop garden) and Gróf-domb (Earl ridge) vineyards. They work with restricted yields of 4-5 tons/hectare and very strict quality requirements for the 10-15,000 bottles of wine they produce each year.
Riesling produces diverse and individual wines, which are a unique, memorable and exciting reflection of each vintage. However, it is crucial to choose the right harvest time, which always depends on fruit ripeness. As they wish to pick the grapes at full phenolic ripeness, they try to harvest as late as possible. Choosing the right time is the responsibility of winemaker Zsolt Palkó, who visits the vineyards each day to examine the condition of the grapes, taste them and check the quality of the juice, sugar and acidity extracted.
They not only select in the vineyards, but also grade and separate the must extracted during pressing according to quality. So, directly after harvest, they already decide on the potential of each must fraction and ferment it separately in three categories. The best must fractions are blended to create their top category of wines. Any must fractions that do not meet the quality requirements are not processed.
“We are sure that the wines we make, as well as the appearance of the bottles, will divide wine drinkers. We do not make our wines according to a schema, but our consistent style features, such as low residual sugar, the exclusive use of protective winemaking techniques, the production of only dry wines with high extract, great age ability and complexity at the same time, enables the characteristics of the vintage and the terroir to show through, so we let the wines themselves demonstrate the kind of wine worth making from them. Although we are also inspired by wines from Alsace and Wachau, our goal is to bottle the characteristics of Badacsony’s micro climate, a combination of its volcanic soil and the Riesling variety, resulting in a unique, unreproducible style. Our wines are therefore fruity and mineral at the same time, rich yet elegant and even suitable for long bottle ageing.” This is how winemaker Zsolt Palkó formulated the winery’s philosophy.
Christer, one of the co-owners, and originally an engineer, comes up with the wines’ unorthodox labels and names, always taking his inspiration from the year in question’s news, events and experiences.
The Sandahls’ main principles are quality, individuality and passion, while their dream is to put Badacsony back in its rightful place on the world wine map. They believe that there is every chance of this, as the vineyards certainly have the potential to do so.
The Sandahl Residence offers a large tasting table for those who wish to taste as well as accommodation consisting of four guest rooms with wonderful views. The winery’s housekeeper, Judit Mozdény will ensure that you have a pleasant stay.
Further information:
Zsolt Palkó and Judit Mozdény |
Erika Schneider |