Lemon yellow with faded greenish reflections. Yeasty bouquet with mayonnaise aroma. Elegantly styled palate with fair amount of acidity, not too much, just enough. Light fruity character with a mixed basket of continental and tropical fruits. Good length too.

Don’t fool yourself, you can’t. I thought that a Tramini would do the job especially a semi-sweet one but my inner sommelier failed me. Again. I first chose a Györgykovács Tramini but I found it too expensive to sacrifice, so I went back to the store (one doesn’t keep Tramini at home, right?), and bought two bottles of Tramini from St. Ilona of Somló, or Kreinbacher, if you like. The 2008 is a dry one which for no apparent reason got sweeter by 2009. And I mean it, because the two wines are almost identical except that tiny difference which is residual sugar. Still, whilst the 2008 is barely drinkable, empty, watery and boring the 2009 is equally thin, watery, empty yet a bit less boring due to the fact that it is somewhat sweet (it doesn’t feel semi-sweet though), and that sweetness leverages the fruityness which is found in the 2008 in tiny portions, hence displaying apple and pear aromas in the 2009, and an ultra-light perfumy acacia nose. It also reveals a thin layer of chalky minerality, so it’s an overall more complex and pleasant wine. But it’s not to be paired with a ginger chicken, although I recommend you to try out this recipe (it’s in Hungarian unfortunately) which is a delicious wine repeller.

Laposa winery made the news with their new award-winning facilities triggering debate over taste, building permits and politics. Although the involvement of local politics and non-refundable state capital inflow into a private winery is a controversial issue, it is also a very Hungarian one. In my defence I bought this bottle before I heard the news, besides Laposa used to make decent and affordable wines both in Somló and in the Badacsony area.

Laposa – Rizling “Friss”, 2009

Openly positioned as a “fröccs” wine it is perhaps a little bit odd to drink it in the middle of the February frost but I’m not bound by such clichés. Sometimes regrettably not, as this wine is really what they say about it: a pale lemon yellow acid fluid from the beginning to the finish, fresh but not crisp and very, very acidic. It is really dificult to appreciate it now and I’m not sure about its prospects for the summer either.

Following the Juhfark in Saturday’s post, I’ve become curious about other  Somlói Apátsági wines and I didn’t hesitate to open a young Furmint.

Somlói Apátsági Pince – Furmint, 2008

Shiny deep golden yellow with a vibrant brownish tone.

Very intense nose of higly concentrated minerals and honey with a botrytis accent. A nice weight on the palate. Savory and minerally first, a bit dull and tart from the midpalate. Tea notes emerge over a deep and concentrated layer of minerals, preceding traces of oak.

Somlói Apátsági Pince have built a cult following over the years. Their wines showing an even heavier character and rocky edge in the last two years I really wonder if they can break into the mainstream but I have doubts. I’m looking forward to see where they’re heading next.

It’s time for me to catch up with my other Somló favorite Spiegelberg.

Somlói Apátsági Pince are as clerical as I am although their commitment to artisan methods is almost religious.

Juhfark is a varietal despised by many, including wine critics, never mind that it is now a matter of fact that Juhfark is able to express terroir brilliantly and although the grape’s vinious notes are always present, the wines made of Juhfark can be complex, fruity and minerally in the same time.

Somlói Apátsági Pince not just realised this but they managed to put it into practice, as we have seen in previous vintages. This is their latest attempt.

Somlói Apátsági Pince – Juhfark, 2009

Straw inclined to mid-golden hue. The nose kicks off with rich minerality, a rocky explosion actually that also implies saltyness, cereals and a hint of vanilla, with traces of acidity. Later lime tree blossom and other floral notes emerge.

On the palate it’s rich and ample with fruity aromatics and an exciting minerally texture to it. Although primarily minerally, the palate is loaded with fruit: fairly rich lemon, grapefruit, apricot and even radish and kohlrabi whilst it also reveals a botrytis-like undertone. The sweetness (it could be the 14% alcohol) suits this full-bodied wine as it is rebalanced with a good dose of dense, salty minerality and pleasant acidity.

The finish could be longer, but this is a terrific wine even at higher temperatures. Not cheap, but fairly priced.

Lemon yellow with greenish reflections. Nettle on the nose. On the palate notes of celery and lovage mingled with light chalky minerality. Very short length. The acidity tastes flat and dull.

I’m a bit disappointed.

Being an admirer of Takács Lajos I find it unfortunate that my latest encounters with his wines were not the best. I was expecting that the once famous Furmint 2006 would finally put everything back on track and restore my confidence in his (and some other artisan) wines.

Hollóvár – Furmint, 2006

Faded straw to medium-deep golden yellow. Smells a bit tired and oxydated with some notes of hazelnut and salty minerality, later popcorn. On the palate malt aromas of Czech lager and popcorn with a bitter and fortunately not too long finish. The wine lacks the sharp acidity of younger (and perhaps better) Hollóvár wines and I miss the sparkling flintstone blast too.

Although never typical Furmints, it looks like Takács Lajos’ Furmints haven’t been ageing well lately.

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).

Rosé wines come and go these days as temperature stabilises above 25 degrees in the evenings but I’m losing my appetite for them this summer. I’ve become a fan last year, well, many years ago in Provence actually but I dared to admit it only last year. My scores don’t seem to reflect my preferences but that’s not relevant. And in the past few days bottles of Légli Ottó, Kreinbacher and Szőlőskislaki Bormanufaktúra all marked their presence in my glass but only the latter did leave good remembrances really and even that wasn’t so impressive. Is it me or the vintage 2009 I don’t know. But I miss the good rosé wines of the previous years.

Pale hay hue. Unusually gassy bouquet but it lacks the flinty character which had become the trademark of Lajos Takács. It’s stoney though, elegantly minerally. And it’s sharp, light but full of ckicken stock mingled with lovage, kohlrabi and parsley.

On the palate it has a grip and it’s sharp but it’s smoothened by an underlying polished, butter-flavored creaminess. Elegant, just enough acidity except the tired finish which is dull, lacks the vibrant acidity and tastyness of the midpalate.

It’s still a good wine but a bit pricey for that.

Score: 5+ points

Price: HUF 3000