Pale lemon yellow. With so much butter on the nose the use of oak is too apparent, although not too disturbing, with light hints of fruit underneath. There’s too much scratchy tannin on the palate for such a small bodied wine. It’s an overall very light and pretty uninteresting Pinot Blanc.

We’ve finished off a bottle of Orsolya’s Abrakadabra the same evening and the contrast was stunning, but I can’t recall all the details and I didn’t mind buying a new bottle so the review will be coming soon.

Read more Rókusfalvy reviews here.

I haven’t been following the winery as closely as I used to since the new generation of Figulas took over Balatonfüred’s possibly best winery, which certainly used to be the best ten years ago. I paid a visit in 2009 and what I found can be summerised as follows. They’re still strong in the lower price category but with an increasing focus on full-bodied and more complex white wines. The red wines are getting somewhat better but there’s nothing to be too excited about. The use of new oak is less obvious, but still important.

Figula – Olaszrizling, 2009

Bright lemon yellow with greenish reflections. Fresh nose of parsley and celery. Further on more vegetable notes on the palate supported by moderate (too little?) acidity and a hint of salty minerality. Later more juicy mouthfil adds to the already silky texture. It’s light, yet fairly complex wine with a medium-long finish, a lovely wine, very good drink but a bit pricy (HUF 3500).

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.

The "breakthrough" Laurent-Perrier Brut 1993

In February 2011 for the first time ever I chose to buy a Pezsgő (Hungarian sparkling wine), it was entirely my decision without being suggested by my wife, a big fan of Champagne. It started some years ago with our New Eve sparkling breakfasts, then one thing led to another and I can state that I now enjoy sparkling wines as much as I enjoy any other wine. The breakthrough came with a Laurent-Perrier Brut 1993 few weeks ago with its delightfully structured style, smoothly integrated palate and mature harmony only found in vintage wines.

Hungarian sparkling wines (or at least those made using traditional method, which I buy) are, of course, modest compared to the Champagnes. But I enjoy some of the rosés and I found this Chateau Vincent Evolution Rosé, 2005 particularily delightful.

It is made of 100% Pinot Noir which makes it look onion peel colored with some brassy reflections. It smells of yeast and toasted bread but it’s more aromatic and fruity on the palate with a bit of residual sugar (20g/L) which I find rather pleasant in this wine (in many white wines in fact), supported by firm apple flavoured acidity. Realtively fleshy mouthfil with aromas of chalky strawberry jam and toasted bread flowing into a very long yeasty finish with hints of pistache.

This is a very good effort, perhaps the best I have seen in its category and it confirms Garamvári Szőlőbirtok (best known as Ch. Vincent) as one of my two favorite Pezsgő makers of the regrettably short list of Pezsgő makers.

Note : pictures have been missing lately because my DSLR had broken and I couldn’t fix it yet so this and the last few pictures were taken with a budget mobile phone camera.

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.

This is a wine from my preferred range: I don’t feel comfortable buying cheaper red wines (HUF 3300) but I can’t afford spending more on wine every time I feel like having a good red one (which is more often than I like to admit). So this better be good.

Heimann – Birtokbor, 2007

A blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot and 15% Kékfrankos this wine has seen 18 months in used oak barrels.

Clean and vibrant medium ruby hue. The nose is a touch reduced showing sweet fruity with traces of wood. This wine smells of gage and plum with strawberry added to the fruit profile.

Elegantly styled palate with smooth acidity and finely composed structure with well handled, yet well defined tannins. Faded notes of clove and other spices also imply smart use of oak. Light but well balanced palate although some might find the 14.5% alcohol sweetness over the top. Open and accessible wine with a good length, but rather restrained in terms of aromas. Lovely texture.

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.

The impact of Sauska on the Hungarian wine industry is still to be understood and if the new trend doesn’t take off in the next few years then perhaps it never will. For now the question is: can Sauska transfer their success formula to Tokaj? The control-freak attitude brought us the new world to Villány, but there’s no dessert wine in the new world (well, you know what I mean). Can over-engineering techniques work in the Aszú universe?

One thing is certain: Tokaj desperately needs professional wine marketing and even Sauska critics will have to admit that that cash could come from the devil itself, provided that it  can help boost sales of a wine region hit by many factors, one of the most important being the world’s profound ignorance of fine dessert wines.

Let’s get first to a basic dry cuvée because I’m not sure yet if I’m ready to open my wallet for the pricy sweet delights.

Sauska Tokaj, 113 Cuvée, 2009

Pale lemon yellow hue with olive reflections, bright and clean. Very restrained and light on the nose with lemon zest and an acacia accent. To my surprise, the wine shows mineral on the palate supported by lively lemon and crab apple acidity and a good hint of salt. There are notes of apple and pear too to a lesser extent, over a tight and fairly long acid backbone. Light nose, middle-weight palate (in fact the palate is light too but richer and more complex). After not too long exposure to air the finish will be shorter and acidity fades.

Furmint is the backbone, Sauvignon Blanc marks its presence too but Chardonnay and especially Hárslevelű are dissolved in the blend. This is the entry-level dry cuvée of Sauska Tokaj, a decent effort that is nothing like the Sauska Villány white wines. But like most Sauska wines, this is a very approachable wine and an interesting blend.

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.

A century ago Hungary arguably used to be very good at making sparkling wines using Méthode Champenoise. I have no idea what those wines were like and I’m absolutely sure that no one at Törley has more clue than most of us. It is, therefore, an abuse of heritage to put the information about the founders of the original winery everywhere for marketing purposes, including the label. For those unfamiliar with Hungarian history and its present: we’re absolutely unable to transfer values from pre-WW1 to the present although we like to look at ourselves as a culturally evolved bunch of geniuses. I’m sure that the traditional method didn’t change much over the century (otherwise they wouldn’t call it traditional I suppose), everything else did.

Although I believe that if spakling wines are featured on this blog then perhaps other alcoholic beverages like Cognac should too, I think that the tiny supply of fine Hungarian sparkling wines will not take too much space from Hungarian wines. So here’s the tasting notes of one of Hungary’s finest.

Francois Président Rosé Brut

Peach and brassy hue, charming as rosé sparklings tend to be, with many tiny bubbles. Very restrained nose with only some yeasty notes. On the palate it’s very dry as one might expect. Ultra-light and not very aromatic, with acidic backbone being the prime and almost only feature on the palate. Good length though.

This is 10% more expensive than Kreinbacher’s rosé spakling wine and I prefer it to Francois. Considering the labour intensity of the method, both wines are reasonably priced though.