As one of the defining estates of the wine region, it has been enhancing the reputation of Hungarian and Szekszárd wines in Hungary and the world for nearly thirty years. Founder Ferenc Takler, who won the title of Winemaker of the Year 2004, manages his 82-hectare estate with his two sons, Ferenc and András. Since their first vintage wines of 1995, they have devoted much of their attention to local grape varieties, primarily kékfrankos and the legendary blend, called Szekszárd Bikavér. Their favourite grape variety is the kékfrankos, from which they make five different varietals with special emphasis on single-vineyard items from Szenta-hegy and Gurovica. The main qualities of their wines in addition to their serious content values are sophistication, varietal character and a long shelf life. With its romantic setting and spacious wellness section, the Takler Wine Estate and Mansion, located eight kilometres from Szekszárd, is now among the most popular hospitality venues in the region.

Category-winner wine: Szenta-Hegyi Kékfrankos 2020

The Takler Trió’s emblematic kékfrankos comes from a former ecclesiastical estate with amazing natural properties, named after Saint Anne. The southeast orientation and clayey soil of Szenta-hegy make it one of the most ideal areas of the Szekszárd Wine Region, yielding high quality wines year after year. The red wines made here have an intensively fruity, refined and elaborate character, with a finish of fine tannins and the inimitable spiciness of Szekszárd. Tasting the 2020 vintage, we encountered a dynamic wine with a truly complex nose and palate, with notes of ripe cherries in its aroma and flavour.