Zalán Mucsi is a third-generation winemaker from Hungary’s “great plains” who set his sights on the wine zones west of the Danube, specifically Szekszárd. Along the way, he met his wife, Barbara, who hails from a tiny town called Gyönk, in the nearby Tolna region. Using their wedding money, they purchased a small hillside vineyard (called “Pelzberg”), on which stood an old wine cellar dating to 1880. Only recently have they started exporting small quantities of their wines.

The Tolna wine district is in Southwest Hungary, west of the Danube River. It’s a bucolic landscape of rolling hills that was, until 1997, part of the better-known Szekszárd district. The soils in the region are a mix of loess (wind-blown silt) with some clay and limestone, with a climate described as cool and “continental.” Proprietor Zalán Mucsi organically farms just 2.5 hectares of vines, cultivating indigenous varieties such as Kékfrankos and Kadarka along with Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

For this bottling, organically farmed Kékfrankos is subjected to a lengthy (24 days) maceration on its skins during primary fermentation, which is carried out partly in stainless steel and partly in open-topped wooden vats. Mucsi describes 2017 as a warm, ripe vintage, so he opted for a long élevage (aging) in large-format Hungarian oak barrels, allowing the wine time to mellow and integrate. The wine’s development is evident in both its lighter color and spicy, savory “secondary” aromas and flavors.

If you’re thinking this is going to be a plump, pitch-black wine in the Austrian wine, think again: This really highlights the spicy, woodsy side of the variety, with notes of dried red fruits, pepper, underbrush, sandalwood, and rose petals. A tangy, rustic red for pairing with pizza, baked pastas, and grilled skirt steak dusted with pepper and herbs.