Zsolt Liptai är VD och chefsvinmakare för Pannonhalmi Apátsági, där han har var med sedan starten 2003. Han tog sin examen som jordbruksingenjör och oenolog vid högskolan i Gyöngyös, och tillbringade sin praktik i Szekszárd, Napa Valley och Eger, bredvid den renommerade vinmakaren Tibor Gál. Zsolt hade äran att väljas in som en av fem som gick vidare i tilldelningen av årets vinmakare 2022, eller ”vinmakarnas vinmakare” som de kallar det. En ärofylld titel som de 50 mest ansedda vinmakarna, däribland Zsolt själv, får äran att utse. Han fick dock se sig besegrad av den nu framlidne Vilmos Thummerer. Nedan får vi en inblick i Zsolt Liptais tankar kring vinmakningen på Pannonhalmi Apátsági.
Through the lens of the winemaker
This roughly 50-hectare property, with four vineyards displaying pronounced differences in soils from loess to clay to limestone, offers me an unrivalled opportunity. The diversity of climatic conditions, along with the training system and varietal composition, both carefully chosen to suit those conditions, gives me excellent quality fruit to work with toward colourful wines of good concentration and firm varietal character.
Foto: Orosz Sándor
The technologies adopted at our gravitational winery enable us to preserve the original distinctive qualities of the grapes in the finished wine. The machinery and equipment we use provide reliable support for a wide range of oenological operations, from the making of crisp and vigorous whites in stainless steel to crafting full-bodied, meaty, ambitious whites from our finest sites that are both fermented and matured in 500-liter casks. For vinifying red grapes, we have stainless steel tanks for cold fermentation at our disposal. Gentle processing methods help us preserve authentic berry fruit aromas intact, resulting in truly characterful red wines aged in small barrels.
Foto: Talabér Géza
My personal goal as winemaker is, first and foremost, to craft crisp, fruity, and concentrated whites from the varieties that are most seminal for us, namely Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc. In terms of the reds, I place the emphasis on expressing the distinctive character of the Pinot Noir grape through exploring various options in sites, clones, and methods of vinification and maturation.
I believe that the constellation of unique conditions and unusual technologies can be successfully conveyed in a wine aged to perfection in the bottle, augmenting the thousand-year-old fame of the Pannonhalma wine region.
Zsolt Liptai, winemaker