Redefining Portugieser- go and drink it now!

in the opposite corner of the country from where you would expect! Apparently the wine makers of Villány have long gave up trying to make excellent Portugieser. I gave up drinking Portuguiser before it was actually born in Hungary. Kékoportó, as it was known before the EU regulation, has been the entry-level red wine of tier-1 and other wineries of the modern Hungarian wine making (I invented this term for wine making which started in the early nineties but really just happening now). Those who became strong brand by the new millennium could sell their poor Kékoportó around EUR 5-6, well above the similar quality new world products. The lack of sophistication of consumers combined with the relatively affordable price for a well-known winemakers’ product made them successful commercially, however.

And for me that was it. The gastronomy equivalent of the small accessories or perfume of the haute-couture designer label in the fashion industry. An affordable item. Only that many perfumes smell good but very few Portuguisers reached the medium quality level. I had a positive surprise tasting a Bock Kékoportó (from 2005?) brought to me by a colleague, which already reflected some quantity control but still was not sufficiently convincing to actually start buying Portuguiser again.

The review

I am told that the Portugieser from 2003 (the first harvest) of Gróf Buttler (the owner, better known in the gambling industry as László Bukolyi) was unbeatable. We opened the 2006 (another good year) and the color was promising. Dark, intense, deep purple color, nothing like the Kékoportó used to be. It’s so dense actually that it moves almost as lazy as a Solus when you move the glass. Wonderful, lively color and the smell is in parity with it. Blackberry, but mostly sour cherry and lots of freshness. Normally you’re not supposed to keep Portugieser for too many years but I expect that this wine (currently at its peak I suspect) will be drinkable for another 1or 2 years. It’s not a big wine but huge compared to its predecessors.

My overall conclusion is that stop looking around, go now and buy one of the Gróf Buttler (so funny name, I can’t stop laughing at it) and wonder along with me why we had to wait until 2008 to drink a really amazing Portugieser like this.

Score: 7+ points

Price: EUR 14

Notes: this day, I’ve also tasted his Kadarka, Bikavér and Pinot Noir (in this order) and the Portugieser proved to be the best value for money. The Kadarka was poor (and very expensive for such), the Bikavér was very good (6+) and well, I don’t want to judge the Pinot because I was far too drunk by then. And just for the record: I know that probably we should have drunk the Pinot before the Bikavér.