Blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Olaszrizling and Riesling, this wine is pale lemon yellow. Fairly fruity on the nose, light and fresh. On the palate it’s small-medium bodied with fresh, young and crisp acidity which will smoothen with time. Fair amount of pear and apple over a thin layer of vegetable notes of parsley and kohlrabi. A light scratchy tartness at the finish.

This is a blend of 34% Olaszrizling, 28% Chardonnay, 26% Leányka and 12% Viognier. Of these, 15% is alcohol.

Lovely vibrant lemon yellow. Exciting nose of salty-chalky minerals mingled with light honey and veggie stock. Slightly sweet on the palate, with Viognier being dominant in taste, overly so if you ask me. Hours later melon aroma emerge.

Serve chilled!

Onion peel inclined to beige hue.

Fresh perfumed nose with some apple acid coming through along with vinious notes of Szürkebarát. On the palate sharp acidity, making this possibly the most acidic wine I’ve ever tasted. Fresh, citric and thin, this wine will certainly divide opinions.

This is an entry level, budget wine for hot summer days.

Owner of a small winery (5ha) and a cult following in Hungary, Frigyes Bott is a winemaker born and working in Slovakia just across the Danube. Although the winery is not entirely biodynamic yet, Mr. Bott prefers natural and labour-intensive methods to advanced technology.

Bott Frigyes – Passion, 2009

This is a blend of Olaszrizling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc.

Fairly complex yet light nose of passion fruit, with kiwi and other tropical fruits coming through with a greenish accent and along a hint of minerality.

On the palate juicy fruity notes of peach primarily with an oaky vanilla undertone. Light minerality mingled with gentle apricot jam acidity, well balanced with a bit of residual sugar, just enough for a medium-bodied wine. Tasty finish, not long but not too short either. Under elevated temperature it tastes caramelized pineapple.

Mature but not old wine, enjoy it now at medium to even higher temperature!

Pale matt yellow hue. Rather restrained on the nose with light notes of lavender and vegetables and a subtle oaky butter accent. Medium-bodied Chardonnay without obvious Chardonnay notes. Barrel aging spices instead, supported by a fairly acidic backbone delivering a tingling texture. Surprisingly pleasant at room temperature (21 centigrade in this case), showing rich and minerally with an overall good balance.

Fairly priced (HUF 2 350).

Egyeki Kúria Chardonnay '09

14.5%

Click to enlarge!

I tasted this wine with friends few weeks ago when this wine stood out with its charming warmth and unusually complex character, and I promised I would buy a bottle and write a review. Here it is.

Orsolya – Abrakadabra, 2008

Lovely vibrant golden yellow with lemon reflections.

Fairly exciting minerally bouquet of rich chalky saltiness mingled with light honey and veggie stock. Unlike last time, on the palate dominantly Viognier, certainly less impressive today. It was broad and complex, now it’s much simpler in character, but creamy and fairly weighty with 15% alcohol hidden behind. I must admit that this bottle wasn’t very well handled when it landed in my hands so this might be the reason for its underperformance.

What really impresses about the wine is its finesse and complexity two days after opening. Creamy, minerally and well-balanced, displaying late harvest notes of sun-dried apricot and ripe papaya. Truly extraordinary when I last tasted this wine, an unusual and good wine this time.

There has been (and certainly will be) endless discussions about what should be the Hungarian wine like, instead of examining first the perception of the consumer (not the domestic market). After decades of debate this job remains undone and the place for the Hungarian wine in the world of wines is yet to be found. Some suggested diversity for key selling point of the Hungarian wine, which is, of course, almost as brainy as if Starbacks started working on his image as an authentic local coffee shop.

Do I know the answer? No. But I’d be very happy if the widely neglected Turán played a somewhat major role in shaping the Hungarian wine’s future. For skeptics, I’d like to refer to Szecskő’s, and Luka Enikő Turán 2009 is not much behind either.

Luka Enikő – Turán, 2009

Deep ruby with a dark core, but not as dark as one might expect from a grape that is widely used for giving other wines a darker tone. The bouquet is dense but not too intense, with elderberry(!) and a hint of mulberry marmalade.

On the palate dense but well-balanced with well integrated subtle acidity. Although very young, this Turán has ripe, soft and tasty tannins. Full-bodied wine with a tasty gentle sour tannic finish.

Good wine with an aging potential of at least a 3-5 years.

Unfortunately like good wines of countries with limited gastronomic and wine culture as ours, this comes at a price, reinforcing Luka as one of the most overrated winemakers.

This is Konyári’s classic Bordeaux cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from Southern-Balaton.

Purplish ruby with a dark core. On the nose quite restrained, displaying spices mingled with chocolate and a ripe mulberry undertone.  On the palate it’s medium-bodied, tight and gentle with a slightly tart soft tannic backbone supported by very subtle acidity of just the right quantity. No fruits here except the dark cherry flavoured finish. Well-structured, straightforward, well-made wine of low complexity but nothing to be too excited about as of now. So it’s a bit disappointing for HUF 4 000. Good aging potential though.

Note: it’ll respond well to decanting.

Wine producer of the year 2010. Why 2010? Unofficially, the prestigious award of local relevance is given to different region each year and last year it was Southern Balaton’s turn. My understanding is that, taking the all-important lobby out of the equation, of the few notable winemakers of the region, Légli Ottó has the longest proven track record of predictable quality.

I may be wrong but to me Légli is still a white wine producer, indeed, in spite of some very decent efforts lately (Ikon Evangelista, 2007, to give you a for instance), the whole Southern Balaton region is for the time being a white region to me.

Légli Ottó – Szőlőslaki Chardonnay, 2009

Clean and vibrant lemon yellow hue, with many tiny bubbles. Lively nose of fresh and ripe apple. Light weight palate packed with fruity aromas of apple and traces of elderberry around a core of tingling acidity. There may be some residual sugar here which is lovely with the light saltiness underneath the broad character. Good length.

Fairly priced at HUF 2 400.

I can’t recall any Kékfrankos I ever really liked, Ráspi and Luka also considered. If you feel about the varietal the way I do, then keep on reading.

Orsolya Pince – Kékfrankos, 2008

Muddy ruby hue, very unattractive, but what follows could be the definition of unusual. Intense and ample nose with notes of anise which will soon develop into cocktail cherries. On the palate caramelized anise supported by moderate acidity, later with oyster and scallop stock flowing into a fairly long finish. Small bodied wine but exciting and full of surprises.

As long as structure and integration is concerned, this is the opposite of well defined wine, but it makes sense.

I realise that you might have different opinion about this wine since no one in my company that evening found it half as interesting as I did, although no one present is as geeky as I am either.

That evening we’ve also finished off a Bolyki Indián Nyár 2007 which is a Kékfrankos-based blend but it wouldn’t be fair to compare it to Orsolya’s, which costs twice as much anyway.