Mix and match of ready made wines is kind of a cheating to me but it can be a very delicious sin. In 2009 Gál Lajos, Lőrincz György, Hagymási József, Sike Tamás and Rabóczki Attila used some of their wines from Boldogságos, Kántor tag, Rózsás and Szarvas vineyards and made a blend of Olaszrizling.

Ripe maize inclined to gold hue. Dense nose of delicious rocky minerals mingled with a hint of vanilla (petunia?). Similarly styled palate, a bit rustic, almost robust.

Deep golden yellow. Heavy bouquet, revealing almost nothing in terms of fruits or else. On the palate highly concentrated substance with some wet grassy notes at opening. Full-bodied wine, rich in fairly exciting stoney and mineral notes from the mid-palate, but I’d like more acidity and liveliness here. It looks like acids cannot bear the 16% alcohol. Good length though. When chilled it’ll reveal an even richer stony character  with picante olive aromas and texture.

I recommend this for lovers of rather enigmatic wines.

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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%

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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.

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.

I’ve been looking forward to this post for, like, ever. Here it is.

Bott Frigyes – Rizling vlašský, 2009

Vibrant lemon hue. The nose is sweet, stylish minerality with an almond accent. Very attractive.

Clear and clean character with firm acidic determination. This prickling mineral acidity is rigorously accentuated throughout the palate, rebalanced by some residual sugar or alcohol (14%). Robust acidity with a tasty chalky salty charm.

I think it’s a tremendous wine. Forget fruits. This is pure acid filtered through the savory chalky peaks of the Carpatians.

How to drink? Better served chilled and decanted an hour before drinking. It goes well with a slightly cooler or warmer bottle of the same wine.

After two shorter than expected meetings in Bratislava and Vienna the other day already on the Hungarian highway I noticed the bright white Pannonhalmi Abbey on the hills and before I knew it I turned the wheel to pay a short visit to the Winery of the Year. I returned to Budapest full or surprises and excited to open what I thought would be another good interpretation of my favorite white varietal.

Unlike Somlói Apátsági Pince, Pannonhalmi Apátsági still belongs to the Abbey, one of the firsts and one of the lasts still functioning in the country. Huge sums spent on the Abbey are apparent everywhere, from the facelift on the walls to the caves of the cellar, everything invoques the golden days of free peasant labour and the tithes.

Today the abbey’s business model is different. First of all the abbey folks were surprisinlgy friendly (or frightened) considering I was a gate crasher who broke into their office without an agreed appointment at the end of the working day. Whatever their reason they seemed keen to show me around the cellar, starting with the new oaks (they buy lots of them) of the red wine wing. Everything underground is spacious and clean (except the area of one of the steel tanks which was leaking giving away hectos of Pinot Noir per minute). I was so glad to be able to discuss the soil differences between Mosel and Pannonhalma instead of listening to the usual bullshit of winemakers that I forgot to spit after every sample but I didn’t mind.

Two things you should know about the wine. One is that Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pince embraced screw caps very early and have been using it for almost all of their wines and not just reductive ones. Other is that Rajnai reasling is also used to make a barrel selection for double the price and without some qualities the simple Rajani has. I found it way too oaky after 6 months in the new barrel. So below is the tasting notes of the naked Rajnai Rizling.

Pale lemon yellow with platinum reflections and tiny bubbles. The nose is delightfully crisp and acidic with hints of apple coming through. Indeed on the palate it’s sharp and crisp with a very exciting acidity, brilliantly accentuated around the mid-palate. What impresses most is that this excessive vibrant acidity within this small-bodied wine feels just right. The wine’s made more approachable by notes of apple and a chalky saltiness and I also like the minerally texture of it. It has an instant appeal that won’t change even when it gets warmer or more chilled.

Very good, obviously a bit one-dimensional wine but a must have piece. This wine was left in contact with the lee for three months and that’s fine but I’d be interested in what it would be like if left for a few weeks more.

A stock clearance of a well known retailer provided my with a good opportunity to acquire some bottles for party people coming to visit us from time to time, you know smokers and alike. Some of these wines were so disappointing they drove me to the conclusion I made about mediocre wine reviews in this post. Tiffány’s Portugieser 2009, Tiffán’s Imortal cuvée 2007 and Tűzkő’s Sauvignon Blanc 2008 were good match with cigarettes only really. The following two wines were the best of the lot, so far.

The wines

Chateau Kajmád – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Kékfrankos, 2003

Considering it was made in 2003 we can call this an early bird of it’s kind with it’s 14% alcohol.

The look: A dark core surrounded by pigeon blood hue and a pale brownish rim, with some purplish reflections.

Nose: Interesting spices coming through a stuffy bouquet at first, things like turmeric-favored plum and other oddities.

Palate: Dirty. After 90 minutes it evoles structurally but I’d like more definition to it. The wine’s texture is oily and I’m suspecting a good deal of glycerin here. The tart fruityness I would even call pleasant would it not been ruined by the whole picture including quite a lot of half powdery, half sticky overflowing tannins soaked up by the glycerin. The wine has a dirty character which I associate with many – even not so old – Ch. Kajmád wines, very much the opposite of the clean Konyári or Gróf Buttler wines.

Hilltop – Prémium Merlot 2008

Look: dead ruby.

Nose: mulberry syrup, very fruity.

Palate: Ligh-bodied wine with blueberry wrapped in burnt rubber and licorice aromas. Soft texture and polished tannins. But as a whole it’s too “made” and simple.

Evaluation: forget about it.

You hopefully just read the debut of Pfneiszl on this blog so I don’t need to tell once again how I feel about organic wines (my opinion didn’t change that much since last week).

This Merlot is medium ruby with purplish reflections. Fairly fruity and fresh nose with blackcurrant, sour cherry and some spices (I think cinnamon mainly). Similarly, the palate is fruity and fresh with acidity that only doesn’t cross the line if I think of almost any other red wine from Sopron in this segment. Very short finish. It’s an overall very similar wine to the Kékfrankos, a decent organic effort from a region which often disappoints but nothing to be too excited about.

Score: 4 points

Price: