Intense blast of berry fruits and the clean smell of a basket of blackberry.

Still young, small medium-bodied wine with a peppery, toasty appeal. Good length with ripe tobacco leaf, tobacco and a hint of tannic tartness.

The wine responds well to airing, getting texturally softer, heavier and denser.

As the cheapest GB red wine out there, this is perhaps not as complex as in 2007 at present, it might still age well into a remarkable piece of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2-3 years of time.

Let’s start with a disclosure here. The Eszerbauers are making extra efforts at the winery’s tasting premises by personally entertaining even not exactly high-profile guests like myself but fail to find a merchant who could make their wines easily accessible in the capital of the country. So I was given this bottle by an ex-pat wine enthousiast and regular reader of this blog after he recomended me this wine but I couldn’t find it in any shop (virtual or brick and mortar). Thanks John V.!

Now, I kind of like Eszterbauer wines because i) of the stories they created around every single wine, ii)  they’re inexpensive and iii) they’re simple and straighforward wines with a recognisable character.

The review

Dark, clean bright claret with a cherry rim. Sweet blackberry with a lightly earhty accent on the nose. Very approachable wine with smoothly integrated, soft tannins, lovely texture and almost no acidity at all. Very gentle, rich, clean fruity palate flowing into a rather short length. A little bit sweet but not excessively and not because of the residual sugar I think but for the high alcohol (15.5% – the grapes were harvested with an unusually high sugar content) but it doesn’t burn at least so I’m fine with it.

A middle of the road wine with a certain new world-y tone albeit quite unlike a Hungarian Cabernet Sauvignon. So it’s interesting.

So how was it then?

Around this time of 2008 expectations about this vintage ranged from good to outstanding in every region although some remarked that a rainy October could leave this vintage short of excellence of, say, 2006. I’m not saying that the same irrational exuberance took over the Hungarian winemaking as it did in Bordeaux but Hungarian winemakers undoubtadly tend to be more optimistic in their expectations lately. Let’s find out how it all turned out on the east bank of the Danube.

Levendula Pincészet – Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008

The winemaking philosophy of Levendula is very different from the well-known Cabernet producers from the south and that’s clearly reflected in this wine. Also Levendula Cabernet Sauvignon is not a typical Cabernet as it lacks many of the “standard” features one would expect from varietal. After the “classic” Cabenet 2007 the 2008 has less chocolate but has more fruits starting from a vibrant, sharp and clean black-currant bouquet with a chocolate-woody-black peppered undertone to a stream of ripe cherry on the palate. Further on boiled apple and pear supported by powdery tannin and harsh acidity. A little bit rustic compared to the other wines to come but it’s the most fruity of the three.

Pannonhalmi Apátsági – Tricollis, 2008

This is a blend of Merlot (40%), Pinot Noir (40%) and Cabernet Franc (20%) but it could easily be sold as a Pinot Noir. It’s rather pale cherry-pinkish and has a very restrained nose of clove flavoured boiled apple with a vanilla accent. On the palate silky texture with very subtle acidity. A light entry turns into a gently fading length with beige caramel from the mid-palate. 13.5% alcohol feels a bit over the top for such a thin wine.

Bock – Ermitage, 2008

This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Fanc, Merlot, Syrah, Kékfrankos, Portugieser and Pinot Noir could be called Bikavér for it mixes these varietals in a way one wouldn’t suspect all these varietals were actually in it. It’s clearly Cabernet Sauvignon-based though with Merlot and Franc being also apparent. Altough having been aged for 14 months in large barrels and used small ones, with it’s dark brownish hue this looks more like an old-school Villányi Bordeaux cuvée rather than an experimental blend. Dense and highly concentrated material. Delightfully structured wine whose perfectly ripe (and a bit sweet), tasty tannins are a robust yet very fine underpinning that doesn’t require any airing to show its best. Perfectly linear flow from the entry to a rather short finish. Acidity could be fine-tuned here but tannin is the most prominent component of this wine and you can forget the rest. Altough being one dimensional and hence soon predictable, it’s worth to buy it just for the sake of tannin alone. A rare example of very smart use of oak.

All three wines are fairly priced. Tricollis and Levendula’s Cabernet are of the same league although very differrent in style, while Ermitage is different from both and more expensive but very reasonably priced at around EUR10.

Konyári is arguably (source: konyari.hu) the best known and most acclaimed winery of South-Balaton. This statement alone is sufficient to dislike the winery. This is so crucial to Konyári however that the statement reappears on five consequtive pages under the menu “about us” of the winery’s website, and apparently that’s all we need to know about “them” (plus that they have 30 hectares and they produce 200K bottles a year). I also learned that sustainable development means planting trees, not use too much pesticides and not to use air-conditioner in the cellar. It all makes sense to me without any ideology. Other interesting facts can also be learned from the website, now I know for instance that the most exigent consumers are buying their wines in restaurants.

About the wine

Appearances. First of all the bottle is handsome and well made. And so is the wine. Bright, lively claret with many reflections.

Smell. Restrained but very clean nose with hints of fruits.

Palate. Well composed palate with a firm acidic backbone and a distinct polished but hard tannic underpinning which I start to recognise as a Konyári trademark, also found in Ikon’s best wines. Lovely texture as a result of the well integrated and well balanced acidity and smart use of oak. Very gentle acidity indeed. There are no intense aromas in this wine but it displays some fruityness of red currant and cherry. Elegantly styled light and clean character with a pleasant finish. The 14% alcohol is nowhere to be seen.

Price: HUF 2500

Conclusion: Well made wine representing good value for the money.

Hint: I recommend you decant it or simply leave it exposed to air for 60-90 minutes before you drink it. I also liked it most at around 17 centigrades maximum.

There was a time when I thought that Szent Gaál was about to become the next big thing but it never happened. Is it because they’re present in hypermarkets all over the place (so no way wine snobs will ever write anything good about them), or they didn’t improve much while others made a good progress I’m not sure, but maybe because of both.

Dark ruby just the way it should be. Lovely sour cherry marmalade nose mingled with ripe mulberry and a hint of dark chocolate. Very edgy tannins on the palate, quite hard and a tiny bit tart too. Very nice, long finish with dark chocolate.

One thing is certain: Szent Gaál may not have produced their great wine yet (it’s certainly not this one) but they never produced shamelessly bad wine either, unlike some big names form this region or further to the south-west.

Score: 4+ (now I would give it 5-)

Price: HUF 3 700

For a long time I didn’t realise that Gróf Buttler had wine under HUF 5 000. With a price tag well under 3 000 this Cabernet Sauvignon looked suspicious. Hungarian red wines under 3 500 are a scary business.

Dark core and purplish reflection. GB wines usually have charming, warm nose, slightly restrained first – well this one wasn’t different so my suspicion started to disappear. With notes os savory and other spices the nose is quite appealing. And with minth, herbal and camomile notes later on it’s even surprising. Remains slightly restrained though.

Very hard structure on the palate with a ripe tannic underpinning. The texture is the usual dense syrup.

After being uncorked for 24 hours the tannins smoothen and the wine’s even more tasty with an even friendlier character. It didn’t lose any of it’s charm in the same time.

I recommend this wine for everyday drinking, it’s good value for the money and it’s almost unique in this price range.

Score: 6-

Price: HUF 2 500

Maybe Szekszárdwill be the region producing the most new world kind of Cabernet Sauvignons and red wines in general in Hungary. Maybe people will like it but one thing is certain: Hungary’s consumers and wineries have been so far resisting to the trends and to styles coming from overseas shaping the world’s wine taste. Maybe these wines will not provide Szekszárd the competitive edge but neither did Kadarka. So why not give it a try. Konyári did. Others did too, Eszterbauer is actually more Californian now than Hungarian as long as his style is concerned. But instead of further generalizing let’s get to the short review of Konyári’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.

The review

Medium deep ruby color with black beet reflections. The wine has a quick move in the glass.

The nose is not intense and not as rich in fruit as I expected. But it has a cherry aroma in it and a very new world-y vinious character. On the palate this medium-bodied wine has medium acidity with a sloe fruit element and little else. It’s young, fresh tannins are pleasant though. The wine, however, is “empty”. It’s enjoyable but without any rich aromas of fruit, minerality, leather or whatever you’d expect from a Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s balanced, has a thin but good structure, it’s good to drink and it’s relatively fairly priced.

Score: 4-

Price: HUF 1 500

I’m not particularly good in pairing food and wines. Although I became interested in it I’ve never had the time to learn about it. Besides, my major problem is always whether to pick a wine and chose the right food, or the other way around. To be honest, I don’t think the first makes too much sense. And since I think (and maybe I’m wrong) that most wines will show their best values and will be most enjoyable if one didn’t eat anything at all for hours prior to or during drinking the wine, this, most of the time doesn’t cause any problem to me. I usually taste a wine for hours before finishing the bottle off with some food. Restaurants and Xmas are exceptions.

So in the case of the wines in this post, I tasted them first before any meal but eventually we started eating before I could finish my several hours long drinking for only the pleasure of it.

Ráspi – Mithras Cuvée, 2006

Medium pale color. Not very clean, as you can see on the picture.

This cuvée has a very unusual nose. First, its very complex, I felt I couldn’t name one third of the aromas I could sniff. Second, it’s very light and medium fresh. But most important of all, it’s very different. Well, there are  common intense floral and vinous notes an Irsai Olivér would have, but there’s minerality too and this unsolvable thing which is very Ráspi.

On the palate it has the usual salty-minerality character with the above mentioned Irsai elements and a grassy undertone. The wine has medium-small body and a good structure for such. The biting salty-minerality in the middle of the tongue soon moves backwards and leaves a long finish back there, with some bitterness sitting on the salt.

Later the nose develops into a very interesting ramen soup with crab, which is very interesting and pleasant.

Socre: 4/4+

Price: HUF 1 000 (This is how much I paid to the winemaker but the actual retail price is unknown to me)

Hétszőlő – Hárslevelű Late Harvest ,2005

Bright golden color. It has a fruity nose with intense pear aromas. On the palate, stewed pear, peach and later apple elements and a medium level of acidic sensation. Not bad from someone who only really believes in Aszú wines in Tokaj.

Score: 4 points

Bussay – Esküvé, 2006

Everything I wrote here still applies to the wine. Acidic character with a medium-small body, pale color and lively move. I gave it 4 points this time but it really may be just because of the wines and food I had before drinking it. Still a good wine, fairly priced.

Malatinszky – Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000

Medium deep brownish-ruby color with a brick color rim. It has a lively move at opening. I don’t know whether it has any scientific reason or it’s just my mind playing tricks on me but I tend to see old wines getting darker, slower and more concentrated after a few hours of decanting. This is what happened with this wine as well.

From opening it has a chalky-smoky character on the nose mingled with black-currant and later black-berry and sour cherry. Interestingly its tannins are very soft at opening but becoming harsh after a few minutes before finally smoothing again. The wine has a bit more than medium acidity and a sour-bitter character from the beginning until several hours later. It’s relatively small body is made more pleasant by a nutmeat element on the palate.

Score: 5, 5+ points

C. Da Silva S.A. (V.N. De Gaia) – Cruzados (Vinho de Porto)

Drinking Port wine at Xmas is considered a major treason by many Hungarians. I had different plans myself (although I’m not one of them), but my father suggested to open a Port wine which we brought to him from Portugal in 2001. The label has no vintage which in Porto means that it’s a mix of different (sometimes poorer) vintages.

The special about the wine is that unlike most Port wines this one is a white Port but I’m not sure if it’s actually made of white grapes. Anyway, it has a pale rum color with orange-brassy reflections. It also has a very appealing bottle which also reminds me of old rum bottles.

The nose is dried-grape, burnt sugar and cognac and the palate provides further evidence of brandy: the alcohol (19%) burns. This wine spent a lot of time in barrel and this, combined with the above elements doesn’t allow any tannin or acidity to be noticed. On the other hand it has a long praline-like finish with herbs and canned quince elements added.

I’m not sure if it would be fair to compare a Port wine with any other wine so I won’t give any points here. Let’s just say that it’s a very pleasant drink but doesn’t really compare to a Tokaji or a Sauternes.

I stopped buying Teleki wines before they existed. I was guided through Kopár dülő by Attila Gere in 2001 and on our way uphill to where his best Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon were grown before eventually fulfilling their destiny in the prestige cuvée Kopár, we passed by delapidated plots where grasses grown almost as high as vines themselves. They made a sharp contrast to Gere’s new plantations put in rigorous order and apparently subject to regular manual maintenance. Those were the plots of Villány Borgazdaság, in their decline, the ancestor of Csányi Pincészet.

For sure, Mr. Csányi may have made it the most modern and best run winery of the country (he’s got the funds for it) but why would he do that? He can sell as much of his crap as he wants through the MOL gas  station shops all over the country, a sale channel many winemakers wouldn’t dare to dream of.

On the other hand, Csányi Pincészet has 340 hectars in total which is enormous with Hungarian standards, so he could afford to venture some money with not-so-mass market wines and I did, as a matter of fact, run into some robust Chateau Teleki wines which weren’t bad after all. But this is the first time I got into tasting the lower segment of the sortiment. I must admit that I got this bottle as a present of an OTP employee, although I’m not suspecting that she got (unlike the UPC employees) this particular wine as a gift from OTP.

The review

Csányi Pincészet, Teleki, Villányi Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

Deep ruby color and a medium lively move, indicating medium body.

The nose is, I regret to say, very common new mass wine of the new world type. There’s no simplest way to put it and I’m not a sophisticated writer. It’s not unpleasant, it’s just extremely undistinguished. It carries some cherry- and plum-jam notes with a little bit of pepper, wood and alcohol.

On the palate the evidences of ripe vine harvest are clear. High concentration of extracts, syrup-like consistency and tannins so plished that they’re actually almost totally eliminated from the formula. Very new world-y. The medium body doesn’t get support of acidity.

I think that 2006 was a suitable year for these kinds of wines and I must admint that for as much as 1 300 forints you seldom can buy better red wines in Hungary.

Score: 4-

Price: HUF 1 300

But you wouldn’t tell. I must admit I opened these wines on a special occasion which also happened to be an open-air barbecue. So my notes are short and include an unusual level of uncertainty.

The aim is clear: how’s been the Gere Cabernet Sauvignon Barrique and Kopár Cuvéé (both from the classic 2000 vintage) evolved over the years. Bot were kept in cellar in equal conditions. Perhaps the Cabernet Sauvignon has a handicap for having spent few weeks in my apartment prior to moving to a proper place.

The review

Gere Attila – Cabernet Sauvignon Barrique, 2000

Dark ruby color with purplish reflections and a brick rim.

Typical cabernet and paprika nose with raspberry underpinning.

On the palate sour, robust tannins and acidity. In my memories this was a full-bodied wine but I had to wait an hour to recover that feeling. In the same time the tannin hydes behind the acidity. Overall the wine doen’t really improve in the decanter.

Too old, the sine hasn’t delivered the expected potential.

Score: 4/5-

Price: unavailable. 2005: HUF 4 300 / EUR 18

Gere Attila – Kopár Cuvée, 2000

Lively deep cherry color. It gets much much deeper with time.

Full-bodied wine with some residual sugar, round acidity and elegant, velvety tannins. On the palate intense chocolate flavor and sour cherry. Huge body. Merlot is dominant. Still fresh and lively.

The wine still has potential for at least a couple of years.

Score: 7+/8-

Price: unavailabe, or sky-high. Newer vintages range between HUF 7 000 and 9 000.