RiChard
Through wine, Zsolt Sütó hopes to achieve self-awareness. A return to what he considers long forgotten values- understanding nature and oneself, the ability to accept something different, and that cheapness, comfort, and conformity are not and should not be guiding principles. Sütó strives to return to the ancient roots of winemaking; to create wines that require an open mind to enjoy. In his own words, wine “to which nothing has been added, and nothing has been taken away.” If you have preconceived notions of what a glass of wine should be, his wine will challenge them.
Strekov 1075, founded in 2002, focuses on terroir wines, expressive of the Strekov village, located in south-west Slovakia. All of the vineyard work is done by hand, and indigenous grapes of Central Europe are preferred. The wines are fermented spontaneously without any intervention, with no sulfur added, and are macerated on skins. Sütó has gone as far removing wire rods and poles from 5 ha of his 12 ha vineyard, training grapes to grow closer to the soil, believing they will express terroir more clearly with the proximity to the earth.
These wines have a lot of depth and complexity- they’re bold and unique.
A joint-venture of Zsolt Sütö of Strekov 1075, an iconic and seminal figure of natural wine in both his native Slovakia and Central Europe as a whole, and his friend Peter Šroner. In 2018, Peter realized his dream and planted 5.76 hectares of vineyards some 30km north of Strekov, and has been farming them organically and biodynamically. The Šroner & Sütő project emerged spontaneously in 2020 when Peter’s very first harvest came in. As he does not yet have his own production facilities, Zsolti helped out and took the grapes into his Strekov cellar – and a brand new tasty collab was born!
The wines are all made with classical Strekov 1075 treatment, ie. barely any at all .) Hand-picked, gently destemmed and then turned into either rounded whites (RiChard), flamboyant skin-contact wines like Šupkáč, or juicy, zesty pet-nats (coming soon!), using only spontaneous native fermentation, time and Zsolti’s extensive experience and passion. No fining, no filter, no sulfur added, these are true natural beauties, with pronounced aromatics and lip-smacking freshness coming from their northern, relatively cool-climate region and young age. This project really encapsulates the vibration of their friendship and you can definitely taste all the enthusiasm and joy in the wines.
Grape: Chardonnay (hence the name)
Vineyard: 2.5 ha of young vines (planted in 2018, single guyot) on clay-loam on loess subsoil. Situated in the village of Vajka nad Žitavou, Nitra district, some 30km north of Strekov. The vines are farmed according to organic and biodynamic principles (to be certified) with a lot of handwork by Zsolti’s friend Peter Šroner.
Making of: the grapes were handpicked in September, destemmed, pressed and fermented in old 300 l and 220 l oak barrels and new 500 l oak barrels, with gentle stirring by hand, no added selected yeasts or other additives, no temperature control. Elevage for 7 months in the same barrels. Bottled by gravity without fining, filtration, or SO2 addition the following May.
Personality: a richer, generous style of Chardonnay with a nice acidity that makes it quite pleasant to drink – enjoy with some creamy fish/poultry dishes or even mildly-spicy Asian fare.
– Jenny & Francois
