A few years ago, don’t remember exactly when, I’d been browsing the internet for Hungarian country accommodation in a castle or as they’re called in Hungarian, “Kúria” which is a small castle in the country usually dating back to the 19th century or before. There aren’t too many I must say and my search was narrowed to exclude otherwise very trendy wellness hotels which I never felt attracted to. I found a recently refurbished nice, one storey Kastély near Szekszárd, which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere on the smaller hills west from Szekszárd. Based on their website and the pictures of the rooms, I expected a snobbish, overly touristic Kastély with posh guests and arrogant service staff. I couldn’t be more wrong: the house was ran by a friendly late middle aged couple, the service was very polite and friendly and apart from a group of retired people we were the only guests of the Kastélyszálló. The rooms are decorated in 18th and 19th century baroque style with nice replica furniture. The atmosphere is quite antique and the only problem was the thin doors and noisy corridors, hence lack of privacy. In the sunny October the Szekszárd hills were covered in all kinds of color and the whole area was extremely quiet. The staff was very nice, polite and helping but not pushy at all. They just hired a new winemaker who appeared in the middle of our wine tasting in the cellar around 11 pm but he was too busy working with the fresh material to join us for a conversation. It was quite convincing seeing him doing all the labor intensive work himself in the middle of the night. They just came up with a new sortiment, including the price prestige series which I liked very much, although I found them too pricey at that time.

So you might wonder why there isn’t any post entry on this blog about Szent Gaál wines. The only explanation I can think of seems quite stupid, that is because I didn’t want to destroy the very good memories with a corked wine or a faultless, but weaker wine I may have encountered. I was still a little bit concerned about it but I couldn’t resist the 50% off from the Cabernet Sauvignon Válogatás (Selection) 2006 (which itself further increased my concern). But 2006 couldn’t be wrong for Cabernet Sauvingon, I thought, it was a long, hot season so the CS grapes must have been mature enough to produce a great wine just like the ones I remembered.

The review

This Cabernet Sauvignon is deep purple with an almost black core. Very dense on the nose. The wine swirls beautifully in my  Bordeaux sized glass, releasing high concentration of berry fruit aromas, blackberry, sour cherry, chocolate and mostly dried plum elements with a hint of clove. And a little bit too much alcohol I must say.

The palate also has a dense, fruity character with an oaky accent. Full-bodied and well-balanced, although a bit alcoholic to some people. Very appealing texture with polished, powdery tannins which, unfortunately, will be too oily after 60-90 minutes. There’s a hint of nice, sour cherry core-like bitterness in the not so long finish. This wine’s in a good shape right now but it won’t age very well for too long.

Score: 6-

Price: HUF 3 400

This wine is fairly priced, just a bit above what I would feel really fair. But if we can believe what Szent Gaál are saying on their website, further price reduction can be underway. 

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!

Domaine Gróf Zichy is one of two premium brands of Twickel Wine Estate of Szekszárd.

The base material of the wines consists of grapes grown on the best located vineyards and the low harvested quantity per hectare is coupled with intensive grape selection and delicate grape processing.

Still according to the winery’s website, wines are matured for a long time, using the highest quality wood and barrique barrels.

The wood barrel maturing of the wines lasts at least 12 months and maturing takes place in the best quality wood and barrique barrels. Maturing in the wood barrels is followed by an equally long period of bottled maturing period.

The review

Medium-deep purplish Merlot with a rich blackberry nose mingled with plum and high-toasted barrel notes. Appealing palate of young and fresh acidity with just a hint of bitterness which leads to a short finish. There’s substance here with blackberry and plum mainly, relatively well integrated into a medium body. Nicely textured with soft but not too ripe tannins. Good balance with just a tiny alcohol at the end. Not a complex wine but a pleasant drink. And this wine will age well for another 2-3 years, so this is a potentially 6 points wine.

Score: 5, 5+

Price: HUF 2 300 – 2 700

That I know little about Viognier grapes is an understatement and we Hungarians have a handicap in learning about it. Incidentally I bought one in the Lubéron which is very close to where this grape’s the most famous in the old world. I also happened to pick a Viognier at Klassz restaurant the other day so now I had a chance to at least try to learn something about this wine which is supposed to be easy to like.

So the Heimann winery’s Viognier from 2007 had an appealing medium-deep golden color and a not too intense, floral nose with a papaya undertone. On the palate a blend of tropical fruit aromas stand alone. Not acidic nor has it particularly lot of residual sugar, indeed, it’s very dry and the 14% alcohol isn’t disturbing either. The wine still has a bit less than medium body but a very short finish. Despite the shortcomings it’s still an enjoyable wine wroth 4+ points.

After I hadn’t been sure about whether I had a real Viognier experience yet I opened the Chateau Blanc’s Viognier, Vieilles Vignes of 2004. The name tells us that the grape was harvested from old vines and I have on doubt. I bought the wine at the cellar from the owner himself and I’ve left the winery full of good impressions (further enhanced by the enchanting paysage, several square kilometers covered in lavender slightly curved by the breeze coming from the Mont Ventoux’s direction in the sunshine…). The yield was less than 30 hectoliters per hectare. The ripe grapes were picked with hand. The juice underwent malolactic fermentation in the barrique and daily stirring of the lee (battonage). Left in the oak for 6-8 months and bottled in spring 2005.

The medium deep golden color is similar to the Heimann’s. The nose, on the other hand, is very different: full of very intense perfume of floral aromas and this intensity will last for at least 24 hours (when I finished the bottle). But not a usual floral note as it can be found in other wines too, this is something different I cannot really describe mingled with vanilla and a stewed apple undertone.

The palate shows an oaky vanilla dominance with a similar floral character as the nose. Now, it became obvious that this wine’s over its peak and not just because of low level of acidity and the imbalance caused by it but the palate could be fresher, plus it also could have less residual sugar to deal with. The finish is short and this wine has more vanilla than anything else. Very little of the grape. I beginned to think that I was sensing fresh sawdust impregnated with fine vanilla. Today this wine deserves no more than 4 points which is a pitty because I’m sure it sused to be more only a year ago. So the EUR 8,95 is not so much for it after all.

I always thought that the “Hungarian Beaujolais” or new wine as we call them here, are a simple financing tool aiming to improve the duration of assets in the balance sheet or even worse, clear some bad items off the balance sheet by making some magical blend which then will be finding its way to the market through the goose plates around St. Martin’s day. Those crossing my way never been quite convincing but I was persuaded by a merchant lately to try Bodri Gúnár 2008 because it’s a “must-have piece of new wine” (well, not so new in February, I thought). So here’s my first new wine review ever on budapestdailyreview.com. And this is my first post about a 2008 too.

The review

Appealing, very lively,  medium deep ruby color with intense cherry and purplish reflections. And a nice move too.

The nose is incredibly rich  in cherry aroma. Supernatural, or unnatural? I spent the next hour asking this question to myself.

The palate is also cherry fruity but above all it’s very acidic more than anything else. Brutally. The tannins are young but OK, but boy, will the acidity in this wine rip all the plaques off one’s teeth just like that! Very young, fruity, upper medium-bodied wine with an explosion of cherry aromas everywhere mingled in acid lasting long, and than a bit even longer.

I wonder if this wine would get, or could get any better but it doesn’t have to. It’s a nice experience, although the wine clearly lucks any deepness or complexity, or finess. ’cause you know what? I’m convinced: we should have such a wine once a year (or twice)! And goes well with a duck breast too. Plus, it’s not exactly a bargain but it’s fairly priced.

Score: 4/5-

Price: HUF 1 800

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 wrote recently about Eszterbauer winery from Szekszárd so let’s just jump to the review. This time, I opened the top cuvée of the winery Mesterünk Cuvée from 2006.

It has a deep ruby color with purplish reflextions and a slow, lazy move in the glass. So far so good.

The nose is heavy, cranberry and cherry jam with the concentration of a syrup. This wine has a new-world-y character from the beginning to the end. The intense fruity aromas get more moderate on the palate with very smooth tannins and very low acidity. Big concentration but very one dimensional.

It doesn’t improve but doesn’t get worse either 2 days later, except that I can’ sense acidity at all by then. But it’s still enjoyable, but very little.

Score: 5

Price: 2 400

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)

I’ve been hesitating lately whether or not to publish my tasting notes from my recent visit at Eszterbauer winery because of  the following reason. The wines and the owner of the winery himself were quite OK so I opened a bottle of Paternus cuvée and it was sour and obviously faulty. My second tentative was this Kadarka at home, carefully cooled and not decanted.

As the name (and label) of this particular wine indicates the Eszterbauer family has a long tradition in wine making having been involved in local affairs since for ever. The proofs are on the tasting room’s walls and on the wine labels as well. János Eszterbauer is a successful entrepreneur and self-made man, as he describes himself. The winemaking is actuall done by Pálinkás Laci.

The review

The nose carried the same strawberry jam and clove elements as when I tasted it few weeks ago with a cranberry undertone. Unfortunately the wine completely loses this character after only 90 minutes. Quite not surprisingly the small body and lack of acidity (tannins not even mentioned) wouldn’t help. No concentration either.

Score: 3+

Price: HUF 1 600

To tell the truth I enjoyed more the wines at the tasting on-site and Eszterbauer’s personality certainly helped. I didn’t regret the visit and only a little bit the money spent of wines that I brought home and re-tested. So below you’ll find my remaining notes from my visit at Eszterbauer.

Coming soon…

Following the white wines I’m going to share with you know my notes from the on-site tasting at the Bodri Pincészet.

Bodri – Kadarka, 2007

Very nice fig color! Slightly darker than a typical Kadarka.

The pleasant nose carries notes of cherry and sour cherry.

On the palate the medium tannic acidity is a bit too much for the small body, especially that no fruits can be found there. It has an unpleasant sherry-like finish. I can’t read the rest of my notes, I’m very sorry.

Score: 4+ points

Bodri – Pinot Noir, 2007

A brownish fig color.

Car-leather nose with cognac accent, quite elegant.

On the palate lot of cherry and velvety tannins with a brandy/Port-wine-like underpinning. The 13,5% alcohol is fine here.

Score: 5

Bodri – Bikavér, 2005

50% Kékfrankos, 20% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5-5% Zweigelt and Kadarka make this Bikavér quite confusing, with dark color but a lively move. It’s a bit woody with nice, although deft tannins not yet smooth and with chalky leather and red beet elements on the palate. With time, tobacco too. The wine could have more body.

Score: 4 points

Bodri – Kékfrankos, 2006

Phosphoric nose, woody on the palate.

Bodri, Kékfrankos Szelekcio, 2004

Brick color with ruby accent. More elegant on the nose and on the palate too with smooth, almost oily tannins. Intense cherry, berry fruit and peppermint nose and alcohol (14%), medium body.

Score: 5, 6- points

Bodri – Optimus, 2006

This cuvéé (20% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon) has a less intense, less fruity, instead smoky nose with some tobacco, leather and chocolate. More elegant than the Kékfrankos Selection. This full-bodied wine has smoother tannins.

Score: 6, 6- points

Bodri – Merlot, 2004

Bodri did not make Merlot in 2005 but he’s still got bottles left from 2004.

Pleasant nose. Full-bodied wine but a bit woody on the palate. Burning alcohol, along with residual sugar.

Score: 6 points