Budapest Daily Review

Funny name, funny label, so refreshing to see after having seen so many chateaux emerging from nowhere - as I write this I realise that as a rule of thumb you could easily pick mediocre wines simply by selecting one from one of the many Hungarian “chateaux” (there are exceptions though). The fact is, there are virtually no chateaux left in Hungary and even less with a history in winemaking. Hétszőlő actually has a chateau but they’re not calling themselves chateau (although they’re owned by French, well partly). Akutyafáját reminds me of Orsolya Pince’s early labels, drawings made by children, now by a teenager, all suggesting that we all (in the wine scene) are taking ourselves too seriously. The whole scene btw reminds me of a song by The Cribs (Hey Scensters), a great (probably the greatest) indie band currently being ruined by Johnny Marr. But Akutyafáját is different, also from Eger, from a wineamker who apparently thinks a lot about his wife (or he’s more ironic than we’d think), this wine is simple and straightforward: affordable, lovable, and Hungary’s mass market needs wines just like this one. It has somewhat of a terroir character, something of Eger but it’s also very accessible by everyone. Believe me. Here’s why. The nose is full of spices, clove mainly, mingled with some burnt wood and cherry/sour cherry - already very attractive (the wine needs that to be honest, it’s appearance is quite regular, medium-pale ruby, nothing exceptionnal there). Fresh, slightly scretchy tannins first on the palate supporting a rather sweetish, friendly character. Firm, but not overly, with young but gentle tannins providing excellent backbone for this rather small-medium bodied wine full of freshness and fun, with notes of cinnamon falvoured apple pie and cherry compote. Fairly good length with just a hint of bitterness to be detected sometimes, more than that dried thyme and savory. This wine is excellent for long, friendly conversations, or for exhausted folks like myself drinking and blogging. I’m a fan of St. Andrea and only now I realise that this is the first post about one of the best wineries of Eger (and Hungary).

And this is the best red wine I’ve seen under HUF 2000 for, like, ever…

Score: 5+

Price: HUF 1 845

ps: I’d like to dedicate this wine (and post) to a friend from Eger who turned 34 today and will become a father in a couple of days. He has no idea about I writing this blog and I hope he’ll never have, but I hope Samu won’t have to waste so many brain cells as we did in the nineties by drinking rubbish Eger wines. So cheers, for a better future.

2003 produced some of the first really remarkable great white wines this country’s seen in this millennium (just think about Mandolás Furmint). We learend to appreciate this vintage even more after the tough 2004 and 2005 vintages. The glory of most of these wines, however, didn’t last for more than 4  years, some of them starting a sharp decline as early as in 2006. On the other hand, some of these wineries couldn’t repeat their performance up until now (again, think about Mandolás). The wines from the north bank of Balaton have been having hard times as well. Still, or maybe because if this, I was very happy to discover this already forgotten Kereklevelű (known as Chardonnay beyond the Carpathians) in my cellar from Tóth Sándor (aka Scheller).

The review

Medium-deep hay on the glass, the wine opens slowly to show some flinty notes on the nose. On the palate an almond element mingles with lot of rustic, but attractable minerality. This latter becomes denser, just as the whole wine, after one hour and a half. Medium-large bodied wine supported by lower-medium acidity (which means there could be a little bit more) and a slightly bitter minerality. A bit sweet, the wine is still fresh and in good shape right now with soft, slightly sandy tannin. The marzipan and almond is later faded by dried apricot and even richer minerality. I sometimes sense a botrytis-ish element in the background.

This wine will give you lot of pleasure for only HUF 1 600 especially if you can give it an hour or so before drinking.

Score: 5+

Price: HUF 1 600

I first appreciated the affordable wines of Paternina of Rioja on my first trip to Madrid and the Banda Azul brand accompanied us through our journey through Toledo, Córdoba, Sevilla, Ronda, Cabo de Gata to Segovia. When we went back few years later to visit le Pays Basque and País Vasco, we visited their winery near Haro (I think, btw, that everyone should visit that land if for nothing else but their tapas bars). I picked up a cheap Chardonnay there, from 2006. This ultra-light wine of pale greenish color is fresh and young with a celery and fennel character supported by crisp acidity in smaller quantity. It’s still slightly sparkling on the palate. This wine is a decent 3+ points effort and provided a good basis of comparison to the very different Áldozóhegyi.

Levendula Pince started as a winery in 2006 then called Vági Pince. In 2009 the estate consists of 2 hectares but they also have 1 hectare of “borrowed” land under cultivation which was “thrown at them” as the owner puts it. Lovas is a small village above Balatonfüred and this part of the outskirts of the village are particularly inaccessible by motorized 4-wheel vehicles. Once there, the view from the entrance of the cellar is stunning. Below us spreading are steep slopes  planted with 5 different grapes in well-maintained rows running downhill on the rusty rocky soil so typical around Balaton. The top of the cellar and a rather big surrounding area is covered in Lavendel - hence the name of the winery. The place is beautiful and the owners and winemaker are very friendly people. We’re immediately offered bread with pork fat and fresh onion rings between apologies for not having prepared anything in the traditional oven of the estate (Kemence) but of course we didn’t book such things since we ended up here after having just fled from Söptei Pince, a quite disappointing place if you ask me. With only 15 minutes left before closing the winery we are immediately taken into the back-end of the recently built cellar and shown the 225l+ oak barrels and stainless steel tanks and 1 minute later our glass is full with Juhfark 2007. About two hours later we emerged from the cellar content and happy.

Levendula Pince - grape press

The reviews

Note: the first three are barrel samples.

Juhfark 2007 is a barrel sample and as such, quite raw material. Pale hey hue. It has the most unusual dill aroma nose with Chardonnay grape notes and a hint of elderberry. On the palate dill mingle with gooseberry and other small green berry fruit elements with a green apple accent supported by abundant fresh, lively, slightly harsh acidity. Thin-bodied, light, quite acidic.

I am told by the winemaker that yields are high, they don’t really care about reducing it. The grapes were harvested in the beginning of October.

Score: 3+ points

Price: HUF 1 000 (but also available in 1,5 litre bottles at about HUF 1 500)

Chardonnay 2007 is very pale with celery and other greenish aromas on the nose, a little bit less intensely than Juhfark’s. Thick and similarly structured as Juhfark with a little bit less acidity, but still quite firm and grip.

Score: 3+

Price: HUF 1 000

Olaszrizling 2007 is another very pale wine very similar to the previous two in every aspect, with the difference of acacia and unripe walnut aromas on the palate and a gooseberry-Traubi accent.

Score: 3+ points

Price: HUF 1 000

All three wines above are very acidic, overly, if you ask me and I only recommend them for acid fanatics.

This is just illustration, the review's about the 2007 vintage

Olaszrizling Késői Szüret 2007 is a late harvest but dry wine and clearly the premium white wine of Levendula Pince. A slightly darker but still quite pale hue in appearance. A nice, warm and even sweet nose with floral notes. It reminds me of Hétszőlő’s late harvested Kövérszőlő in this aspect. Light but full of floral notes. On the palate more polished with gentle acidity and sligly greenish tannin. Wood leaf, parsley and green vegetable notes. It only has 6g/L residual sugar but 15,2% alcohol. And it’s OK.

Score: 5+

Price: HUF 1 500 (and best buy)

Cabernet Sauvingnon 2006 is medium dark ruby with an almost brownish rim.

On the palate dark chocolate supported by lively tannins and fresh acidity. Dense, concentrated and upper-medium bodied. This is a very decent effort from a region which is not famous for its red wines and from a winery not famous from low yields.

Score:5+

Price: HUF 1 500 (and it’s a best buy too, of course)

I like the Szekszárd rosé wines which are, at least those I’ve tasted so far were,  relatively dense and fruity but refreshing. Ferenczi is another winery which is not listed on Google’s first 20 or so pages so I can’t tell you more about them just now.

The review

This Rosé Cuvée 2007 has a pink color with brassy reflections. Creamy strabwerry on the nose, dense and sweet but light. I guessed Merlot and Pinot Noir from it but I didn’t suspect Zweigelt in this blend of three. Now that I know it I think there’s more of it than of Pinot Noir actually. The wine delivers the very same character on the palate with the same intensity. Fairly round with a hint of sweetness which is perfectly balanced by fresh and lovely acidity supported by some chalky and salty notes. Medium-bodied but refreshing (at the right temperature of course). I like rosé wines as in Provence: chilled to around 5 Celsius and drink it as a refreshing soda. But this wine offers more than that. With enough fruitiness and that mineral twist adding depth to the wine makes it above average and more than just a summer mid-day refresher. It’s firm enough with its elegant acidity and it has a relatively long finish with punch and clove aromas. And it’s nicely textured.

If Debreczeni’s marriage with Ferenczi is as good as of these three varieties’ than they’re a happy couple.

Score: 5+/6-

Price: HUF 1 400 Of course it’s a best buy!

This is the debut of Villa Tolnay on Budapest Daily Review although I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. The Swiss owner Philipp Oser started making wine in Csobánc (Balaton region) in 2005 and currently has a bit more than 5 hectares of which almost 50% planted with red varietals (mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon I think). All of their wines are matured in oak barrels and they’re not using modern winemaking technologies but focusing on low-yields so Tolnay belongs the so called handicraft winery movement. This Rajnai Rizling 2007 (aka Tavasz) is the entry-level wine of this small winery.

Pale yellow with greenish and metallic reflections, showing freshness and indeed the nose is full of fresh greenish, grassy aromas with a lemon accent. On the palate it’s very refreshing too with very nice, lively acidity and a salty-chalky element for re-balancing the residual sugar this wine certainly has. It’s light bodied and pleasant to drink. This wine has apple and green pear elements too and a long, acidic finish. I expected some oaky notes but there isn’t any. A decent effort from an IT expert. And a very good value for the money.

Score:5, 5+

Price: HUF 1 500

Soltvadkert belongs to Hungary’s largest wine region located north-east of Szekszárd on the plain called Kunság. Infamous for high yields and low quality, the region failed to gain reputation for its winemakers until 2007 when Frittmann János was elected winemaker of the year and suddenly the demand for his budget wines soaked up his wines from the shelves of hypermarkets. I picked another rosé ,a bit more expensive but not less interesting: you can always expect Ráspi to surprise you and why would rosé be an exception?

The reviews

I ran into a Kékfrankos rosé from 2008. Pale pink color with brassy reflections. This rosé has succulent, relatively intense but light nose, full of fruity aromas (raspberry mingles here with strawberry with a marajucá accent). This thin wine’s a bit sparkling on the palate with salty mineral accent here which flows into a relatively long finish. It’s a bit sweet on the peak of the tongue and on the mid palate it has a dry-mineral texture lying on crisp acidity. At very cool temperature it loses some of this complexity. Warming up a little the nose will have a candy element and watermelon on the palate. The wine’s very light bodied but pleasant with decent complexity and a surprising mineral character.

Score: 4

Price: HUF 950

Ráspi’s Rosé Cuvée from 2007 (dominantly Kékfrankos too) has a very similar color with a a little bit darker tone. Now this rosé has more intense nose with raspberry and strawberry notes. The palate seems to have some residual sugar but it’s well balanced by a salty texture. Very aromatic with cherry compote and watermelon elements. This medium bodied wine has a wet-stony salty character which hides the alcohol (14% against only 12% in Frittmann’s) so it doesn’t burn. This wine has a pleasant long finish. I reviewed this wine already once and the cork broke just like that time. Ráspi’s yet to find a good cork supplier.

Score: 5

Price: HUF 1 500

Bortársaság is a major wine store chain in Hungary. Their own product line consist of three pieces and this white cuvée was made in  Fodor Béla’s winery of Balatonszőlős (the red’s made in the Takler winery and the rosé at Villány’s Ikon).

The suspiciously low price (about HUF 1 100) for this big, although nicely designed bottle from an unknown producer (Fodor’s name doesn’t appear on the front label) repels wine snobs just as much as it attracts students and low-budget drinkers. I thought that this, put aside Tüske’s red magnum was the ultimate party wine purchased in the last minute by the said target market. I decided to test it on members of a family reunion and it was very well received. And indeed, this is a light wine however well-balanced and with a remarkably integrated structure. It’s fruity on the nose and on the palate too. It’s way ahead of many 75 cl bottled white wines and for HUF 550 a liter it’s a real bargain. And not just for parties.

I went to Csalogány 26 restaurant the other day for a quick lunch and I was offered the house’s red wine for only HUF 200/100 cl and it turned out to be a very good choice (a  cuvée from the Malatinszky winery made specially for the restaurant). I was very surprised by the price in such a good restaurant but I think that this is the way to get Hungarians drink wine in restaurants (yes, they don’t). The price of wines in Hungarian restaurants is outrageous. Some people my have realised this so they organised Wine Wednesday (or Borszerda), a single day in a year when participants (few dozen restaurants in Budapest for instance) offer wines at a 50% discount. They still make a good profit on it so I’m surprised why most good restaurants did not list up for the event.

I liked the  2006 very much. And I’ve found exactly what I expected.

This Sauvignon Blanc has a pale color between water-white and lemon-yellow and a lively, appealing move in the glass.

The nose has a very fresh, citrus aromatic character with what many would call cat’s pee. It’s a relatively complex bouquet with gooseberry and some apple, lime and lemon zest notes.

This wine has a small-medium body, relatively well integrated with fresh, long acidity and a tart element on the finish. On the palate it’s first fresh and fruity (mainly citrus fruits, gooseberry and the grape’s aromas), from the mid-palate it’s long and slightly bitter. It has  very nice texture, firm, almost metallic, but soft and pleasant. At higher temperature the wine has a more bitter character. I prefer it cold and fresh.

This wine is light with a decent depth, drinks very well now but I’m suspecting that it won’t be much better with time. Good value for the money.

Score: 5+

Price: HUF 1 750

Ottó Légli has, in total, 33 ha vineyards mostly on the small hills of the Balatonboglár region. According to his credo, his aim is to make the wine express the utmost harmony of natural values of the wine such as fruitiness, acidity, freshness and of dedicated human efforts.The vine composition of the plantations is as follows:

Chardonnay 7,7 ha, Olaszrizling 5 ha, Rajnai Rizling 4,8 ha, Sauvignon Blanc 3,6 ha, Pinot Noir 4 ha, Merlot 2 ha, Kékfrankos 1 ha, Pinot Blanc 0,5 ha, Rizlingszilváni 0,4 ha, Muscat Ottonel 0,3 ha, Irsai Olivér 0,3 ha, Zenit 0,3 ha, Zöldveltelini 0,2 ha, under reconstruction 2,9 ha.

I picked an affordable middle-range wine (he produces wines for the budget consumers as well as for the wealthy Hungarians, and a range in between). I was a bit disappointed lately with the lower-end sortiment, so I’ve been looking forward to the more expensive range with mixed expectations.

Légli - Landord, 2007

Medium yellow-golden color, clean and bright and the wine has an appealing move in the glass.

This Chardonnay has a very attractive nose: intense, but very elegant acacia honey with floral edge. Very refreshing. It has a mouth-filling presence on the palate too with grapefruit and other citrus elements, supported by round, fresh, elegant acidity. Remarkable, excellent balance. More than medium bodied with a nice structure with a good deal of salty-minerality making it even more exciting, completed by an apricot aroma undertone. Complex, but not heavy wine, although heavy enough to accompany the 14% alcohol. The acids are lovely and they’re trimming well the residual sugar.

Later the nose will have a marzipan note too and the palate a more Chardonnay vinous character.

The smart use of polished oak is interesting and pleasant.

This is the last great Chardonnay in a row of three in only a few months. The three came from 3 different regions in the small Hungarian land. The three are priced around HUF 3 000 which, of course, qualifies them for best buy. Something to think about.

Score: 7, 7+

Price: 3 500 (on sale, normally 4 000)

Bright golden color, I expected darker, more brownish tone.

The nose is sulphuric with honey and floral notes of medium intensity (I expected more intense aromas).

On the palate it’s well structured, well integrated, nicely composed peanut butter and peanut  with elegant acidity and nice, smooth texture. There’s a tiny bitterness of walnut too. I suspect high level of alcohol, a bit burning. Round wine with some residual sugar embedded into the nice acidity. The burned sugar finish is long and very pleasant.

With time, lot of caramel with burnt walnut on the palate and a touch of vanilla. The wine stretches in the whole mouth from the peak of the tongue to the back-end, filling it with a smooth, velvety sensation. The nose becomes more marzipan-vanilla after an hour.

It well worths the price.

Score: 7-, 7 points

Price: HUF 3 000