Budapest Daily Review

All attempts to produce really good red wine in the northern Balaton region have failed so far. The truth is you can barely find half decent efforts. Villa Tolnay have been supplying the market with perhaps the most stable quality of white wines over the years. And yet they’re still betting heavily on red wines.

Névtelen 2006 is almost terracotta colored. Warm, very light nose with hints of spices, caramel and walnut. Later wild mushrooms and earthy notes. Very dry, very thin, with a slightly bitter tannic backbone. Pretty vacant.

We have seen so much better for half the price from Levendula.

Score: 4-

Price: HUF 2 600

Nice color, good look. On the nose wet forest soil, mainly, dense and heavy for a Kékfrankos. Further on whirling, robust, unripe and bitter tannins dry out the mouth. Underneath the tannic blast lie layers of surprisingly fine susbstance but hardly any of it comes through. It will open a little releasing ripe forest fruit aromas, too little, too late.

Score: 3 points

Price: HUF 3000

Up and coming talent Németh N.A.G. Attila Gábor is one of the titans who are trying to re-establish the reputation of Mátraalja as a region capable of producing excellent white wines and fine red wines. The efforts to prove the latter have not been very convincing so far but white-wise some prominents of this generation have already proved their point. Still, the region’s post-WW2 history is a heavy burden. For how long terroir wine merchants will be able to sell red wines like Karner’s at such a ridiculously high price is another question.

This Concubina has a pale hue with pale purplish reflections. On the nose forest berry fruits with hip dominance. On the palate it has layers of spices with underlying woodyness. Very raw structure. The wine lacks determination and it has badly integrated components.

Unfortunately I call this Mátraalja character. This style lacked the instantaneous appeal and it still does.

Whether Concubina white 2007 is as good as in previous years we’ll find out soon.

Score: 3+

Price: HUF 2000

I returned two st. Andrea Pinot Noirs in a row to the retailer because they were corked. The third one I took home was a Pinot from another vinyard, namely from Hangács of Demjén. I’ve never been there and I didn’t even know the place existed (I still doubt it a bit).

It turns out that St. Andrea Pinot Noirs are intentionally corked, or so they seem (leasson learned, Ráspi). But the shop clerk says it’s normal, a buyer brought back a lot of six bottles, all corked. I couldn’t believe my ears.

Anyway, this one from Hangács is suspiciously similar to the other two. First, it has the same blurred pinkish brick color, then it has the same bouquet (and that’s not exactly a compliment). Well the cinnamon, rose and woodchip aromas are not exactly repelling but they’re not huge either. The palate is embarrassingly desintegrated, with harsh components, firm tannic backbone and a hint of (positively) sweet compote element. I hoped it’d get better with time but it got worse.

Score: 4+

My first encounter with Kreinbacher wines didn’t impress me and I still couldn’t get used to their (sometimes overly) high prices although I now at least appreciate their efforts to find Somló’s new old character.

They embraced old grapes through their lower-end label Szent Ilona too. Entry-level cuvée Taposó-Kút is, every year, an Olaszrizling-based blend which in 2006 produced a more Furmint-like character instead. I at least attribute that sour-bitter element on the mid-palate (not at the finish as often seen in Furmint) which is so dominant in this wine to Furmint.

But let’s have a look at the color first: brigh hay hue, not very deep and very lively. Complex, yet friendly floral nose mingled with hints of honey and ripe tropical fruits having a vanilla undertone and a mineral accent. The palate has a mineral and bitter character because of the Furmint I suppose which also leaves its mark on the taste spectrum (along with marzipan).

Aged in mostly used large oak barrels during which the wine had a long contact with the lee (so characteristic to Kreinbacher wines) which is at least partly responsible for the lovely acidity being overshadowed by that bitter taste and texture. This wine would be very exciting without that, but it’s still a very decent effort and a good introduction to this side of Somló.

The wine’s not young and I don’t expect it to get any better with time.

Score: 5 points

Price: HUF 2 500

I knew very little about Tihanyi Apátsági Pince but I was pretty certain that a visit would help. Well it did a little bit but after 2 hours in the cellar and 20 minutes googling the keywords I’m still uncertain about the ownership, the size and pretty much everything else about the winery. I decided to taste their premium label named after the (or one of the) owners, the well-known entrepreneur/property developer/ex-Skála boss Sándor “the richest Hungarian” Demján. Here’s what I found.

The reviews

Badacsonyi Olaszrizling 2008 made me realize that I won’t necessarily be tasting Tihany wines in this beautiful spot of the Tihany peninsula’s interior lake as I hoped. The wine has lemon yellow color and a closed nose with citrus aromas. On the palate green notes supported by abundant fresh acidity in this small-medium bodied Olaszrizling. Score: 3+/4-

Rosé 2008 is 60% Kékfrankos and 40% Zweigelt of relatively low yield (1,6 kilos/vine). Brassy color like those fine kitchen apparels, very nice. The bouquet is messy with earth and wet grass elements. Medium-bodied and relatively well balanced. Score: 3+

Merlot 2006 has seen 6 months in barrique. The wine has a muddy deep ruby color with Port- and Cognac notes on the nose. On the palate it’s relatively rich with dried plum and a hint of sour cherry. Nicely textured with subtle acidity and oily tannin. Relatively dense but fresh with  smoky and chocolate undertones. But it has a mainly Port wine/Cognac character on the palate too. Score: 5- points

Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 is a 50%-50% blend of these two with 13% alcohol. Deep sour cherry color with a black core. Dense nose with chocolate, sour cherry notes. Fresh acidity. Score: 5- points

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 is dark and dense with overly ripe sour cherry aroma on the nose. Well balanced, well structured with fresh but polished tannins and medium acidity. Very dense, with black pepper notes. And a hint of, well, sweat on the nose. Score: 5/5+ points

Dull wines.

Pántlika owns 40 hectares around Dörgicse, a well-preserved small village with a stunning view of lake Balaton, and it probably makes it the largest winery of than region. Although the cellar’s based in a former socialist co-op “hangar”, the front-end of the headquarters is a nice old-fashioned stone house. After this dichotomy I was very much looking forward to tasting their wines, made by a 19 year-old (!) winemaker.

The reviews

The Olaszrizling Válogatás 2006 was the first ever made in the history of the winery. Pale yellow with greenish reflections, this Olaszrizling has an intense nettle nose. On the palate it’s light, thin and quite empty for a “selection” with relatively low yield per vine. Slightly sparkling on the palate with nettle and elderberry flavors. It’s a bit tart from the mid-palate.

Score: 3+ points

Sauvignon Blanc 2008. This pale yellow wine also has nettle aromas on the nose and on the palate but a bit more warm and with a flinty-gas accent. Better textured, more creamy but it’s just as thin as the Olaszrizling. Less acidity here but better rounded.

Score: 3+ points

Chardonnay 2008 is bright with medium-deep yellow tone. More closed on the nose, fairly fruity but this one’s also very thin-bodied, although well balanced but it’s a wine without character.

Score: 3+ points

You’ll find informative pictures on the website of the winery: pantlikapinceszet.hu

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. 

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

Ráspi wines are more alive than Rolling Stones on tour but Ráspi wines change much more in a few months than Charlie Watts’ mimicry over several decades. Here’s another testimony of this. I tasted this Mágus Cuvée 2006 once at the master’s restaurant at Fertőrákos and then again in late 2008. You can read the tasting notes here from back in November.

Medium pale ruby color with an almost watery pink rim. Unlike most Ráspi wines this one has a relatively rich bouquet already at opening, complex but not very intense with earth, chocolate and smoky elements. Quite warm. Even a sour cherry stewed in Cognac and wrapped in dark chocolate (called Konyakmeggy in Hungary). Now this wine has a small-medium body almost empty and watery through to the midpalate. The wine has pleasant powdery tannins which become silky after an hour. Later on the nose asian spices. The palate is quite interesting once salty then with a grappa accent. The wine appreciates decanting and it changes a lot even in matter of hours.

Score: 6, 6+

Price: HUF 4 500