Best of Budapest & Hungary

The Takler family established their winery in the Szekszárd wine region in 1996. During the past two decades, Takler Wine Estate has become one of the most well-known wine brands in Hungary due to its great and rich red wines such as Regnum and Primarius.

In 1996, Ferenc Takler founded his winery with a single plot of almost one hectare at a great location, south of Szekszárd, in the Decsi vineyard, which still remains the center of the estate. The first Kadarka, Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) and Cabernet Franc wines were made in the cellar of their veranda-farmhouse, built in 1927.

The next considerable milestone was the moment of the first plantations in 2000. To date, the grape of the top Merlot wine of the winery still comes from these plots, i.e. from the Görögszó, Strázsa-hegy and Felső-Cinka vineyards. Creation of the emblematic top wines of the winery can also be dated to this period. Regnum is a Szekszárd-style classical Bordeaux blend, dominated by Merlot and Cabernet Franc, while Primarius, the top Merlot wine of the winery, is made only in the excellent vintages.

It is not widely known in Hungary, that in December 2005, legendary wine blogger Alder Yarrow scored 9.5 points out of 10 to the Proprietors Reserve Cabernet Franc 2003 – which brought the wine to the top New York restaurants at a fairly high price. This success in the export market has significantly contributed to the further development of the winery.

Renovation and enlargement of the farmhouse in Sárköz started in the 2000s, which covered renewal of the processing unit and the maturing cellar, and ended by opening the Takler Mansion (Takler Kúria) last year. The Mansion provides an elegant wine tasting venue suited to the quality of the wines. Beside the classic services, the complex offers a wellness unit as well as several venues for conferences and other events.

Ferenc Takler, who was named ‘Winemaker of the Year in 2004’, has been working together with his two sons from the very beginning. Today, Ferenc Takler Jr. is the chief winemaker, being responsible for the whole range of processing and maturing tasks, while András Takler manages the company’s commercial and marketing activities. Today the family runs a complex estate with its own product portfolio. They agree that the future challenge of the winery is to continue this work at the highest level, with more focus even on the smallest details and features.