Historically classified as a first class area on the outskirts of Erdőbénye, with a most exciting aspect. The soil is a rare one in the wine region, slightly chalky, clayey forest soil, which is also reflected in the taste and aroma of the wine. With its south-south-eastern exposure, windy, well-watered microclimate and vineyards with a 12% slope, it is an excellent vineyard from which we will produce our own single-vineyard wine from 2021.
Vineyard area: 6,7 hectares
Grape varieties: Furmint
History:
One of the oldest vineyards in Tokaj-Hegyalja. It was originally an inhabited settlement between Erdőbénye and Olaszliszka in the valley of the Bényei (older name), or in the valley of Meszes-spring (Mezespothoca). The origin of its name is connected with honey, which refers to the fact that the grapes in the area were always ripened to honey-sweetness. In medieval sources it appears under the names Mezes and Mesces, as a royal and later a noble estate. The first known mention of it dates back to 1248, in connection with a boundary survey. At that time it was still a royal estate. The next mention of the village was in 1255, when it was already in the possession of the Premonstratensian monastery of Saint Martin in Szepes, and the name of Meszes was mentioned in written sources in 1293 in connection with a new frontier survey. In the 14th and 15th centuries, vineyards were owned by the Premonastery of St. Martin in Szepes, also known as the Premonastery of Szepes, and the Palatines of Tokaj. It is also known that the rector of the altar dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (rector altaris Mariae Sanctae Assumptionis) and the royal court had vineyards there. This area became the property of the Szapolyai family in 1459. Following the 1526 Battle of Mohács and the spread of the Reformation or Protestantism, the monastic orders lost their estates. However, part of the Meszes was an exception to this rule and remained the property of the Premonastery of Szepes. From 1540, however, the other large part of the Meszes was proven to have been the vineyard of the Tokaj dominion, whose lords were the Serédys. From the middle of the 16th century, the village of Bodrogkeresztúr also had vineyards there, and in the early 17th century a distinction was made between the small and large Meszes, but by the end of the century this distinction had essentially disappeared.
In 1622 the vineyards of Meszes were acquired by the Thököly family, but the royal court also gave the vineyards to several noble families. In 1644 the Rákóczi family took over the Tokaj dominion, and after the Wesselényi conspiracy the Bónis, Baksa and Csető families had their vineyards confiscated by the court, and in 1673 their former vineyards were donated to the Jesuit colleges in Szepeshely and Szatmárnémeti. However, during the movement of Count István Thököly in 1682, he forcibly took back his confiscated vineyards from the Jesuits, only to lose them again.
Following the Rákóczi War of Independence, the vineyards of the Prince and the Vay family became the property of the Treasury. The Jesuits of Szatmárnémeti and Szepeshely regained their vineyards on the Meszes, which they held undisturbed until the dissolution of the Order in 1773. The treasury vineyards were acquired by wealthy families from Upper Hungary, and the Vay family received their former vineyards in Meszes back from the treasury after their return home in 1736. From the middle of the 18th century, this area was called the Vay vineyard of Meszes (vinea Vayana in promonotorio Meszes). The parish of Olaszliszka and later the Trinitarian monastery of Sárospatak also had significant vineyards here. After the dissolution of the Jesuit Order in 1773 and the decrees of Emperor and King Joseph II (1781, 1782, 1783), these territories were placed under the administration of the Religious Fund established by the Court of Vienna. In the 19th century, some of these lands were sold, while others came under the care of parishes or congregations. Until the end of the Second World War the most important owners were the Erdődy, Klobusiczky, Korányi, Szirmay and Vay families and their heirs.