Jani Márkvárt
Szekszard, Hungary (Szekszárd)
"I've got Kadarka in my veins," claims Jani Márkvárt, and honestly he's earned the line. Born in Szekszárd to a Swabian family with generations of roots in the region, he grew up working his grandfather's vines — out at dawn, home at noon, back in the vineyard until dark. In 1996 the two of them relaunched the family cellar; in 2012 Jani struck out on his own, self-taught and committed to bottling only serious wine.
The estate is fairly small — around four and a half hectares of organically farmed vineyards scattered across some of Szekszárd's best sites, on the deep loess that defines the region. A full quarter of it is Kadarka, in a region where the grape barely clings to 100 hectares total. His crown jewels are two old-vine parcels in the Jobb Remete and Sauli Valley vineyards — one planted in 1935, the other so old nobody can document it, though Jani believes it's pre-World War 1.
The winemaking follows the fruit of the harvest: spontaneous fermentation in open vats, no filtration, and no new oak since 2009 — nothing to get between you and the grape. Alongside the Kadarka come Kékfrankos, a classic Szekszárdi Bikavér, and a handful of reds with real local swagger as only Jani can produce.
IMPORTED SELECTIONS
Bikaver
Jani Red Blend
Sauli Kadarka
Syrah