Meet Kolònia 52
Kolònia 52 is the brainchild of two of the most impressive talents we have come across in recent years. Annamaria Torok and Attila Francisti come from a wealth of experience, having worked with some of the leading lights of biodynamic farming like Gernot and Heike Heinrich, as well as Stephanie and Edi Tscheppe of Gut Oggau.
Even before dedicating their time to learning alongside these influential names, their thirst for travel and an unstoppable curiosity to discover wines from near and far allowed them to immerse themselves in this particular style, and shape their personal intuition for farming and winemaking that really stands apart from many fellow peers in their young careers. The two have now found a tiny cellar and home in the hills of Szent György-hegy, a sub-part of the Lake Balaton region in the Western parts of Hungary where they grow their own grapes of Furmint, Kekfrankos as well as small parcels of Pinot Noir alongside other local varieties.
The geology on the former volcano hill is shaped by the prevailing basalt soils which yield linear wines with great tension. Annamaria and Attila were also fortunate to work with friends in the region to purchase a little bit of fruit for their 2021 vintage, which allowed them to experiment and try out a variety of techniques and styles for their first release of wines. For their domaine wines, they have been lucky enough to get their hands on 600L used white wine barrels from Benoît Doussot of Champagne Clandestin — winds of fate that shows their great dedication to detail and ambition in the years to come.
