Izsáki Arany Sárfehér

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The topography of the area is lowland in character; the elevation is below 120 metres above sea level across most of the zone, and the differences in relief do not exceed 10–15 metres.
• The soils are of limited variety; calcareous sandy soils (humus-bearing sand and drift sand) predominate across most of the area, with buried meadow soil as the subsoil and, in places, patches of calcareous loess.
• Sandy soils warm up quickly and, owing to their light colour, reflect solar radiation more effectively, which aids grape ripening; furthermore, their quartz content of over 75 per cent renders them immune to phylloxera.
• Climatic conditions are governed by a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters; mean annual temperature hovers around 10–11 °C, average sunshine amounts to 2,000 hours per year, and average annual rainfall is 450–500 mm.
• The area has a good water supply, with groundwater levels close to the surface, balanced by Lake Kolon, which has a fundamental influence on the soil's water reserves.

• The characteristic grape variety of the production area is Arany sárfehér, selected in 1873 from a local vineyard; it was known successively as izsáki sárfehér, then izsáki, and from 1999 onwards as Arany sárfehér.
• Head-trained vines are cultivated with a low crop load and short, spur-pruned canes, while on the hills rising above the plain a high cordon training system is used with yield restriction and replacement-spur pruning.
• Sparkling wine has been produced on site since 1972, and the distinctive style made there is the Izsáki Arany Sárfehér sparkling wine, produced from 100% Arany sárfehér.

• The wine is pale green or pale straw-yellow in colour; the nose is reminiscent of quince, wild pear, and herbs; on the palate it is flavour-rich, with marked acidity, moderate alcohol, and a neutral character.
• Izsáki Arany Sárfehér sparkling wine is pale green to pale straw-yellow in colour, brilliant and clear, with a firm acid structure; it is aerially light and fruit-forward on the palate, fresh in character, with fine and persistent bubbles and a discreet autolytic note.

• The relationship between the near-surface groundwater level and the sandy soils has a significant influence on the characteristics of wines made from Arany sárfehér, particularly on the acid composition and the moderate alcohol content.
• The calcareous content of the soil results in a fine and well-defined acid structure in the sparkling wine.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Hungary

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• National product specification (PDF) — agrarminiszterium
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-HU-A1341
• Official trade body site — Izsáki Hegyközség (under Kunsági Borvidék Hegyközségi Tanácsa)