Oszkar Maurer "Kekfrankos" 2022 Serbia Red

Press 2 • October/November 2025 Direct Press Selection

Oszkar Maurer is every bit of the equal of the natural wine legends we hear so much about in France. He is apparently the only winemaker that Noma ever chose to feature with a dinner showcasing his wines solely. He has mentored many younger winemakers in the area and is a champion of the region's 2000 year history and its native grapes, as well as his ancestors' traditions. For Oszkar, working the vineyards has given him a deep sense of purpose that helped him greatly after returning from the army in 1993. "I was in quite a distraught mental state, seeing as I was coming back from the war. Wine showed me the way home," he said in a short film profile by the Terroir Squad.

His family has been in the Subotica region of Serbia since the 1800s when they moved from Salzburg in the Austro Hungarian Empire to what is today near the borders of Serbia, Hungary, and Croatia. The Danube River and an ancient volcanic Fruška Gora Mountain, which was an island in the Pannonian Sea have made this part of Europe perfect for wine for thousands of years. His farming is organic and then-some, and the work is all done by hand or with horses. Most of the wines see zero sulfur additions but are rarely funky, which is a testament to Oszkar's meticulous cellar practices.

His Kekfrankos (aka Blaufränkisch) is simply one of the best expressions of this grape I've come across. Five days of maceration, no pump overs, aged 15 months in small barrels. Dark, silky, and elegant with red plum, cherry, black tea, and hints of vanilla and rooibos. It's a tensile and vivid wine with lithe acidity and a long, satiating finish. It has a light touch but the details and articulation make it really pack a punch in terms of clarity and excitement. Will cut through fatty, rich dishes, but it's graceful enough to be savored on its own like good Burgundy. Jonathan Kemp