Kékfrankos

Kékfrankos is Hungary's most widely planted red grape and the country's flagship black variety — the Hungarian name for Blaufränkisch, the high-acid, spicy Central European red also grown across Austria, Germany and the Balkans. Late-ripening and thick-skinned, it yields a medium-to-full-bodied dry red of bright, mouth-watering acidity and firm, fine-grained tannin, built around sour cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry fruit with a signature black-pepper spice and an earthy, sometimes gamey edge. It is the backbone of the fashionable reds of Sopron and Szekszárd and, most famously, the leading grape of Eger's legendary blend Egri Bikavér ("Bull's Blood of Eger"). At its best it is a fresh, food-friendly, peppery red with genuine ageing potential.