Budapest Daily Review

When I see a Leányka I often hear the song Garota de Ipanema in my head (I love several covers of that song). “Tall and tan and young and lovely”, and all the rest of the lyrics should apply to a good Leányka, but it hardly ever does. I mentioned Mátraalja’s heavy burden in my last post.  Now one of Eger’s heavy burdens is the exact Leányka it used to be so famous (and infamous) for in the years of socialist mass production. Most Leánykas are still sold as bulk wine even on Eger’s Dobó tér itself, over the counter, out of metal or plastic bulks. No wonder sometimes you think Leányka couldn’t be different. Fortunately, Kaló, Orsolya and some others already proved it otherwinse.

This is clearly an entry-level wine of Gál Tibor, a quickly cashable asset, so I didn’t expect too much of it.

Pale yellow with greenish reflections. The nose is full of apple and especially pear. It’s intensity falls quicker than gravity would justify. This Leányka is freed of acidity and it’s relatively thin so nothing can disguise its long tartness from the midpalate except some pear flavor passing much quicker than that girl on that particular beach of the Cidade Maravilhosa. And then it’s just emptiness.

Score: 3+

Price: HUF 1400

Btw, haven’t seen the movie “Cidade de Deus” yet? You are missing one of the greatest movies of recent times. Honestly. It’s a must see.

I returned two st. Andrea Pinot Noirs in a row to the retailer because they were corked. The third one I took home was a Pinot from another vinyard, namely from Hangács of Demjén. I’ve never been there and I didn’t even know the place existed (I still doubt it a bit).

It turns out that St. Andrea Pinot Noirs are intentionally corked, or so they seem (leasson learned, Ráspi). But the shop clerk says it’s normal, a buyer brought back a lot of six bottles, all corked. I couldn’t believe my ears.

Anyway, this one from Hangács is suspiciously similar to the other two. First, it has the same blurred pinkish brick color, then it has the same bouquet (and that’s not exactly a compliment). Well the cinnamon, rose and woodchip aromas are not exactly repelling but they’re not huge either. The palate is embarrassingly desintegrated, with harsh components, firm tannic backbone and a hint of (positively) sweet compote element. I hoped it’d get better with time but it got worse.

Score: 4+

I’ve been going through a series of bad luck as long as wine picking is concerned. I preferred not to share the tasting notes about these wines and some of them weren’t even worth to take notes of. I expected more from St. Andrea Merengő 2006 for instance. It’s a good wine but hardly as legendary as some people like to see it  (I loved it’s texture though). St. Andrea Akutyafájást 2008 (white) underperformed too but it may well have been the fault of the bottle. Kreinbacher’s sparkling Syrah Rosé 2008 was our first breakfast sparkling wine celebrating the new year and although its colour and it’s bubbles are beautiful and it’s so dry as it can possible get, it’s short of similarly positive further elements except the strawberry aromas on the nose (still, my wife loved it so you may as well). Sauska’s Pinot Noir 2007 has got a stunning nose but the palate’s disappointing, or maybe our food pairing wasn’t optimal. Although I had a Légli Sauvignon Blanc in a restaurant which I liked but it doesn’t count so I bought a bottle, still waiting to be opend. And then came Gróf Buttler’s Pinot Noir Selection form Szarkás dűlő.

Szarkás’ 14 hectares alrealy pleased me with some of the best Syrah, Kadarka, Merlot and even Kékoportó and Kadarka this country’s ever seen. This means I had some preconcepts about the style I might expect and it couldn’t be wrong.

Blurred pigeon ruby color with a pink rim. The nose is fairly complex and unpredictably so, once with sour cherry and red currant then full of spices.

On the palate very ripe, almost jammy strawberry mingled with cocktail cherry and warm indian spices. Very little, very subtle acidity, some powdery, soft, velvety tanninc underpinning granting little structure. Later leather takes over the lead and at this point on the nose too. Further on dry, southern Spanish cherry aroma.

The bottle recommends serving it at 14-15 degrees celsius but I enjoyed the wine most at around 20, much more than when it was cooler. It drinks well (and quickly) in a winter evening and it’s affordable too. If you don’t like Pinot Noir grape then don’t start with this wine, but it’s an interesting wine for the fans of both Pinot and Buttler.

Score: 6 points

Price: HUF 2 750

For a long time I didn’t realise that Gróf Buttler had wine under HUF 5 000. With a price tag well under 3 000 this Cabernet Sauvignon looked suspicious. Hungarian red wines under 3 500 are a scary business.

Dark core and purplish reflection. GB wines usually have charming, warm nose, slightly restrained first - well this one wasn’t different so my suspicion started to disappear. With notes os savory and other spices the nose is quite appealing. And with minth, herbal and camomile notes later on it’s even surprising. Remains slightly restrained though.

Very hard structure on the palate with a ripe tannic underpinning. The texture is the usual dense syrup.

After being uncorked for 24 hours the tannins smoothen and the wine’s even more tasty with an even friendlier character. It didn’t lose any of it’s charm in the same time.

I recommend this wine for everyday drinking, it’s good value for the money and it’s almost unique in this price range.

Score: 6-

Price: HUF 2 500

My currently favorite hummus bar in Budapest can be found on Alkotmány street, open since my favorite indian take away closed a year ago or so in the same place. That’s how I ended up at Beckett’s, Budapest’s most authentic Irish Pub right on the corner, watching Liverpool beating Manchester United last Sunday (not that any of these would be my favorite clubs, I must say). There I realised that a pint of Kilkenny costs more in Budapest than in London these days, with Hungarian Forint gaining momentum and sterling, well, remaining volatile. This made me remember an article I read somewhere (probably in the guardian) that in spite of the recession, the average price of a pint now stabilised above 3 pounds. Since I’ve become a converted Hungarian wine drinker 18 months ago I no longer follow international pricing (of course I heared about the Bordeaux price free fall and consequent rebound) but in Hungary domestic wine prices remained unchanged or tend to decline a bit since the credit crunch hit us all. In my constant bargain hunting efforts I found this cuvée, which costs HUF 990, down from HUF 1290 and I didn’t hesitate. It has a nice label, after all.

This Bolyki Zorróék 2007 doesn’t look particularily bad, a medium dark ruby with purplish reflections, and has a pleasant nose of mixed ripe berry fruits with a woody harsh accent. Not quite unexpectedly the wine is thin. It’s positively tannic, velvety, soft and all that. But it has a bit too high level of acidity for this body and a rather sour element to ennoy me a little, hardly compensated by hints of cinnamon. Otherwise it’s a very pleasant drink for EUR 4,and it goes well with a 4 seasons pizza (not the hotel chain, but the one sold by the former Ristorante Da Wally, now Da Raffaello since acquired by the Da Lello pizzeria people). It’s a optimal combination if you don’t want your attention to be distracted from a discussion while eating your pizza.

Score: 3+/4- (you wouldn’t expect more from a Hungarian red under 1 000)

Price: HUF 1 290 HUF 990

This was an impulse buy today on my way home but I eventually ended up at a friend’s home with 2 pizzas and started to drink the wine hot as the room in this early October summer day in Budapest. The wine turned out to be in better shape at this temperature, with a color and texture similar to Sauska’s Chardonnay from the same year (somewhere in between the basic and the Makár, and just as full bodied as those), a fat, lovely move and a pleasant nose. Even the bouquet of this wine is silky, when cooler it felt a bit tired tough until we ruined the whole with the Canpagnole and the Calabrese. Nice wine, now on sale at HUF 2000 at a well-known Budapest retailer.

I don’t know the legal term for what the press decribes as “the cellar of the winemaker of the year is closed by the wine qualification (classification?) authorities”. The bottomline is that added gylcerin in test samples was found in Vincze wines recently and irregularities in storing the said wines (well, a few hectos, the whole lot actually, were simply missing…) during the investigation of the case.

Falsification of wines in Hungary is not uncommon, rumour has it. Ráspi once explained to me (and a zillion times to the rest of the world I guess) that techniques like that, and even legal methods of alterating artifiially the character of the wine is widespread practice even among the best winemakers in Hungary (he didn’t think twice to name a few of the best known winemakers of the country). This might be exaggeration, but let’s not pretend that Vincze’s case is unique. I doubt anyone thought this. What raises concern in my mind is how could this guy have gotten elected winemaker of the year? According to which criteria? And, let’s think a minute about who voted him this award…

You can read my opinion about Vincze’s wines here.

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.

Not so much of a wine festival than a bazaar and a venue for crappy stage performances (folklore meets hungarian pop music followed by salsa dancing schizofrenia) I strongly recommend everyone to avoid it. A huge crowd stuck in an apparently too narrow promenade encircled by booths of wineries completely make it impossible to enjoy drinking here. Plus you’ll only find one good and one half decent winery anyway (these two being the less popular among the drinkers - only this fact says it all). 

I wanted to go to Balatonfüred’s wine days (now weeks actually) as almost every year because it’s more airy and Balatonfüred’s small historical centre is a nice place and the event takes palce between it and the Balaton. This was the plan, but for reasons I won’t disclose here we never made it to Balatonfüred this year. 

What saved the Almádi festival was, besides the best lángos I had for many years (not even sold at the festival actually but like 200m away in a regular booth), were the following wines. 

Gál Sauvignon Blanc 2008 is a pale wine very fruity on the nose, fresh and light with notes of ripe apple and plesant acidity (also fresh and young). Excellent for hot summer evenings like this. Gál Chardonnay 2006 is a thicker, although also not too heavy wine of an oaky-character, with lots of melted butter on the palate and on the nose but supported by very well integrated and rounded acidity. Firm but soft (almost creamy), this is a very decent techie wine expressing smart use of oak. Gál’s Leányka 2007 is a very simple wine, ultra-light with a bit harsh character and it’s easy to forget. They sold out the red I most wanted to taste on the first day (more than 100 bottles, so the festival is commercially not so unsuccessfully after all) so I went for the Pinot Noir 2004 (I think). After I  was positively surprised by the 2002 recently I found this year’s Pinot more dominated by the oak, but overall pleasant, spicy, with soft texture and relatively well balanced and with at least a few years ageing potential. I’ll definitely try this later. I sampled Bárdos Imperiál Cuvée 2007 which is an interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir but I was unable to taste it properly but surely a review will follow soon here.

The reason you don’t see too many entries about Pinot Noir on BPDR is because most efforts by Hungarian winemakers have brought very mixed results but mostly unremarkable ones. 

Another generalisation I often commit is stating that Hungarian wines rarely age well, with the exception of many Tokaji Aszú wines. 

Fortunately, I only recognised that the bottle I was about to open (a random selection) was 7 years old so I only had to deal with only one of my pre-concepts.

The review

Not so pale as you would expect, this Pinot is almandine of various tones. The bouquet is punch and brandy, spiced with clove and cinnamon. Later pomegranate and nectarine too. 

Layered texture on the palate, firm and almost crisp on top of a soft and dusty underpinning due to very well defined tannins. An hour later the structure will be dominantly grip and firm but nicely styled, supported by rounded acidity all over the way and a delicate, tasty bitter finish (some might complain about the alcohol though). Creamy sweetness mingle with leaf tobacco very pleasantly. 

Thin but rich, ripe and fresh (suprisingly so considering its age) in the same time, this Pinot drinks extremely well. 

Score: 6+/7-

Price: not available