Intense blast of berry fruits and the clean smell of a basket of blackberry.

Still young, small medium-bodied wine with a peppery, toasty appeal. Good length with ripe tobacco leaf, tobacco and a hint of tannic tartness.

The wine responds well to airing, getting texturally softer, heavier and denser.

As the cheapest GB red wine out there, this is perhaps not as complex as in 2007 at present, it might still age well into a remarkable piece of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2-3 years of time.

Boy, do I love Ales. I could spend hours in a London pub any time of the year, every single day of a week. So guess what, I did. I’m passionate about the atmosphere of it all and I love reading the Observer or the Independent or a book, careful about being strategically positioned near the Ale pumps and I even enjoy watching rugby there (the only other place I do is in Toulouse), a game that only starts to make some sense at all if you’d just watched cricket. Reading in a pub might sound strange to continental Europeans but when you’re the first guess at noon you either watch the passers by (another amazing thing to do in London btw) or read. And when you’re first guest as often as I am then you tend to read for a change. Not very closely related to this topic but closing down the old Waterstones shop on Shaftesbury was a crime against civilized humanity.

Am I happy to be back in Budapest? I’m depressed actually. Still in London, when I almost had enough of beer, I changed for sake for a while but after a week I couldn’t wat to have a good glass of red wine, I wanted a sure shot, a full-bodied, well-balanced aroma bomb and I found a bottle of Gróf Buttler’s Portugieser (yes, it can be all that!) in the basement. Bingo! But it was corked (my first ever). Next one: a Pinot Noir 2008.

This is less vibrant than other G.B. wines with relatively pale orange-ruby color. On the palate soft, warm with velvety tannins and perhaps it’s only a bit too young. Good wine though, don’t get repelled by the alcohol (14.5%).

My generation is growing up, now it’s official. The time when friends come over and bring interesting wines has finally come. And they’re not even wine freaks, but without any coordination three guys are now able to put together, independently, the following wines for a simple mid-week friendly conversation:

1. Hollóvár, Furmint 2008

2. Gróf Buttler, Pinot Noir 2007, Szarkás dűlő

3. Légli Géza, Jánoshegyi Merlot, 2008

4. Disznókő, Tokaji Late Harvest, 2000

Warming up with a Hollóvár can bring tears to the eye of any wine lover and virtually any Tokaji from 2000 would be a closure which would drive wine lovers mad.

As far as I can tell this Hollóvár Furmint 2008 has a deeper straw color than when I first tasted it in 2009, a new wine back then. It used to be more lively and more minerally, today it’s much more mature and maybe even a bit oxidated. Notes of baked corn and popcorn make it good enough, but not so exciting as the fresh and vibrant Furmint this wine used to be. Scores 5+/6- today.

Gróf Buttler’s Pinot Noir of Szarkás Dűlő from 2007 is still in very good shape right now, fairly complex just like before, but now reminding me of shrinken aszú grapes but dry, with firm tannins and flavors ranging from beetroot, through dried date to tobacco and some synthetic aromas at the finish. 7 points.

Légli Géza’s Kislaki Bormanufaktúra probably produced a lovely Merlot in 2008 but I screwed it up with some duck breast I prepared. I came to this conclusion by taking positive notes first but didn’t like it very much after I started the meal. Let’s leave it for next time.

Disznókő Tokaji Late Harvest 2000 is a Furmint but I can’t be sure, I won’t learn it from Disznókő’s website either (and once again, Flash websites should be banned). Anyway this wine is, as I expected, in very good shape and certainly will age well for another couple of years. It’s full of overriped, dried apricot and tea on the nose. Very well balanced palate, soft, botrytis-flavored highly concentrated substance flowing slowly into a very long and pleasant finish. You can call this a perfect closure.

(I had too much wine to be able to give out an objective score for this wine but a fair rating would be between 6-7 points probably).

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

I think that Gróf Buttler’s Kadarka 2005 (400-500 m) is no longer available in stores, I even heard rumors that Bukolyi would buy back some of them if someone would want to get rid off some bottles (get in the queue, mate!).

Medium ruby in the glass with a brickie-pink rim, this wine is intense on the nose with primarily raspberry-syrup and earth elements. Later fresh red meat mingled with a candy accent.

The wine has impressive velvety tannins, quite elegantly styled just like the whole wine. It’s a small-bodied wine with a pleasant creaminess and a good structure. And nice acidity too: fresh, almost sparkling. A little bit fleshy on the palate too, but dominantly fruity with berry fruits and stewed cherry but with a candy undertone.

Another  Gróf Buttler wine which can be fully enjoyed already right after opening.

Score: 6+, 7-

Price: HUF 5 000-6000

I wrote various posts over the last months about Gróf Buttler winery so let’s skip the introduction (you can read all the previous entries about them here).

I had a chance, once again,  to enjoy 3 Bukolyi wines, fully (as long as time and quantity are concerned) and I had, once again, one of those flashes.

I tasted the Pinot Blanc 2003 from Szarkás dűlő in November 2008 and I found it a bit overly aged but still showing clear signs of complexity and elegance.This time I found it in a very similar shape and already on the decline but it’s still a beautiful wine, quite unique in Hungary wrapped in Buttler-style. It had a deep yellow-gold color, beautiful, with a heavy oily move and a vanilla-dominated nose with intense quince notes. On the palate a melted butter character with a salty mineral underpinning. Due to its age, this time it’s no more than 5+ points.

Now Syrah has remained an unfulfilled promised to me in Hungary until I discovered the 2005 from Buttler also in November.One of the things I most like about Gróf Buttler wines is that they’re just perfect right after opening. All of them, the Syrah, the Bikavér, the Pinot Noir, the Kadarka and Portugieser, every single one I’ve tasted so far. Unlike most good Hungarian wines, unfortunately.

The Buttler Syrah 2006 from Nagy-Eged 300-400, is very much like its predecessor from 2005: vibrant, deep purplish color, very rich pepper-y bouquet, big concentration as always at Buttler supported by a very nice acidic and strong, yet polished, elegant tannic backbone. Very spicy on the palate, this full-bodied wine is well-integrated and it’s in a very good shape right now. Score: 6+/7-

I was new to the The Gróf Buttler Egri Bikavér 2006 (Terroir Szelekció) but it left no doubt that Buttler are capable of doing not just excellent, lovable fruit-bomb wines but more complex, more “serious” wines too.

It has a deep, but vibrant color similar to the Syrah. The nose is ample, fruity and more complex with intense, clear cherry and fresh blackberry aromas, very succulent already at opening. These fruity elements mingle with cocoa powder.

On the palate it has a fruity character, this full bodied wine is well integrated with nice, although a bit harsh tannins keeping it in balance with the extracts. Fairly deep and complex. The wine has an asian spice undertone. The finish follows a nice hyperbolic curve, ending in a nicely textured fresh tannic character. Score: 7, 7+

What a modest title. I came up with it in only 1 minute of thinking. In my defense: it’s search-engine friendly and it’s true, from my perspective. Anyway, here’s the almost complete list of tasted wines and their score from 2008.

One remark, except the festival notes, all reviews were written based on at least 1/2 bottle of wine tasted by me alone over several hours, at least once over this period. Even wines presented in quick notes. Any occasional exception was mentioned in the given post, but they were maximum 2 or 3, if any.

Tasting Scores 2008

Wine Festival

Tasting Scores

I’ve recently testified a revolt by a regular drinker (and apparently self-appointed free-lance vine adviser) for Bukolyi never accepting anyone’s opinion on how to make even better wines and what a rubbish method was to classify his wines according to the heights where the vines are located. Indeed, this approach might sound weird to many (the higher the vines come from, the better the quality is supposed to be, or at least this is what price tags suggest) and I cannot judge the character of Bukolyi myself. The simple fact is that his wines never disappointed me and for a rare fortunate coincidence I never had to care about the price tag so far. I hope this wouldn’t incline my judgment today. Anyway, I put this Syrah beside a cuvée from Szekszárd which I sampled later the same day.

The reviews

Gróf Buttler – Egri Syrah, 2005, Nagy-Eged, 400-500

Beautiful, lively, dark cherry color with purplish reflections. Absolutely stunning and with a beautiful, elegant fresh move.

The nose is spicy, dominantly pepper with a woody  underpinning. Lot of pepper and minerality.

On the palate at start a velvety, almost oily texture is supporting the blackberry fruit aromas – I must emphasize the fact that no jam, no overly ripe fruit, but perfectly ripe, fresh blackberry fruit we have here. Later cherry, a bit of chocolate and a phosphorus undertone. The tannins are there in a powder-like , velvety form. With time and for a period, an unlit candle-like element takes over the palate. These strange, but pleasant elements are supported by nice, round acidity. Good structure. The mineral character is there from the nose to the long finish on the palate, along with a cherry seed bitterness.

Score: 6-7 points (I gave it a 6 then, now I’m inclining towards a 7-)

Takler – Cuvée Maffiózó, 2000

The color is dark, brownish ruby as far as I can tell (yeah, the local conditions weren’t perfect for that). Very intense berry fruit aromas mingled with Asian spices.

On the palate this intensity couldn’t be sustained. Even worse than that, there’s no acidity to support the big, although flat body. This is a very dry wine. Only the palate dried tobacco and a bitter finish.

Score: 5+, 6- (I might be a little bit austere here though)

There’s no concept behind picking the two following wines for a quick comparison. That wasn’t even the purpose actually, I just thought that it would be interesting to put them here side by side.

The reviews

Gróf Buttler – Pinot Blanc (Szelekció), Szarkás Dűlő, 2003

Another wine from Gróf Buttler’s first bottled vintage.

Very lively, dark golden color and a slow moving indicate great body. I am told that the wine requires some decanting before sniffing but I like the savoury character of the buquet so much that I start tasting it straight away.

The palate carries notes of marzipan and almond mingled with woody vanilla. It feels a bit old but not overly and I love the huge body and the extracts. A little bit imbalanced due to the lack of acidity and a lot of residual sugar but it’s just pleasant as it is. Later intense, very appealing (and even somewhat fresh) sun-dried apricot aroma on the palate.

An overall very good wine but could have more acidity left after 5 years. New-world fans will adore this wine.

Score: 6, 6+ points (now I feel it more like a 6+/7-, to be honest)

Tamás Pince – Oriolus Cuvée, 2004

Dark brassy color with golden reflexions.

The nose is succulent, at first very ripe, then sun-dried fruits. On the palate honey and burnt sugar/caramel notes. The wine is not as lively as the Buttler but very interesting and special. It has a huge body but unfortunately the  palate doesn’t deliver the same intensity and isn’t so amazing as the nose. After a while the nose becomes even more exciting with floral, rosemary notes combined with egg liquor and green paprika accents.

Score: 5+ (now I would give it a 6, to be honest)

Price: HUF 4 500