The Mór wine festival accidentally falls onto the same days as the more prestigious Villány and Tokaj wine festivals. The less known event however attracted a crowd this saturday that completely filled the streets despite the chilly wind. Mór offered them a street music festival combined with a typical Hungarian country street event (i.e. tons of unhealthy food, vattacukor and usual market crap) with families of all ages from the surrounding cities and villages and, to my biggest surprise, foreign visitors. I’ve heard French and English words, besides the German spoken by a band marching the streets dressed like… whatever (I believe however that these musical events and football games provide you with a unique opportunity to see man of all ages feeling good in their long white socks showing off. Skirts are just an extra here). 

Anyway, I had to drink very quickly because my wife’s been fluttering like the kocsonya (missing from the menu, btw, and it’s a Hungarian food if you would be wondering, basically cold pork bone soup with pork leg in it) so I had no opportunity to discover the rule(s) which drive people to one winery’s quiosque and make them completely ignore others. 

The Information stand however had a middle-aged lady who not only distributed brochures but knew all of the winemakers I asked her about by nickname (I didn’t, so I had to double-check them). I still missed Pontica. 

Due to the strong wind and a rush, my tasting notes are very short and quite unreliable. 

Miklóscsabi – Utazótáska, 2007

This Királyleányka has pale bright color, round acidity and crab apple and pie character on the palate, completed with residual sugar leaving a fresh impression. 

Score: 3+, 4-

Bozóky – Leányka, 2007

Pale, almost transparent color with greenish reflexions. Less intense with less bitterness and acidity, but overall a pleasant wine. 

Score: 3+/4-

Bozóky – Cuvée, 2007

Pale yellow with greenish reflexions, just like the Királyleányka and other Bozóky wines to follow. Bozóky is considered a major winery in Mór but even their cellar is quite small. The old lady who took care of the visitors was very friendly and responsive considering that they attracted most of the visitors interested in a tour in a local cellar. I never quite understood though how can people enjoy a glass of wine in a crowded, smelly room. These notes were taken outside of the building. 

So the Cuvée has a similar pale tone as the others. It’s smoother with less acidity but with a more intense nose and flavors. 

Score: 4-

Bozóky – Ezerjó, 2006

Pale yellow color. More elegant than the others but still with a quite short finish. Better structure and better integrated even with a mineral undertone and an appealing cabbage-like finish. 

Score: 4

Miklóscsabi – Haramia Cuvée, 2007

This semi-dry Cuvée is made of Tramini, Leányka and Pinot Blanc. It’s full-bodied compared to the previous ones and this late harvest character is dominant until the finish. It has a distinctive pale-brassy color. The residual sugar is supported by nice, round acidity. It has better structure than the Bozóky wines. A velvet-vanilla undertone complete the overall nice sensation. 

Score: 5 points

Maurus – Leányka, 2007

Medium-pale golden color and floral notes on the nose. Well balanced with medium body, round acidity and long finish. 

I have to note here that the Maurus wines have very nice labels. And although only the Ezerjó is produced by Kamocsay (on a total of 0,7 hectares) the wines to follow somehow have a common stylish element. 

Score: 4 points

Maurus – Sauvignon Blanc, 2007

Remarkably nice onion-brassy color and nice, round acidity. 

Score: 4+/5

Maurus – Rajnai Rizling, 2007

Pale yellow with green-apple reflexions. On the palate oaky-vanilla notes maybe a little bit over the top. On the palate fruity elements and some residual sugar are supported by medium acidity. It’s a nice riesling with a long finish. 

Score: 5+/6-

Maurus – Ezerjó, 2007

Pale bright yellow. On the palate complex aromas of vanilla, oak and floral notes with gooseberry and acacia elements and round acidity. A little bit sweeter than it should be for a dry wine. 

Score: 6/6-

Maurus – Chardonnay

Elegant wine with some oaky vanilla and appealing bitter acidity and a tobacco-like undertone. 

Score: 6 points

I was drawned to Chateau Megyer wines few weeks ago due to a meeting with its owner, Monsieur Jean Louis Laborde, a nice people by the way. It’s not that Chateau Megyer wines would be difficult to find, indeed, they’re everywhere. And that’s why I’ve been avoiding them and as you’ll see, maybe I should not have done so.

The review

Medium deep golden color. The nose is acacia, honey and caramel. Not quite what I expected. On the palate woody, even tanninic supported by unexpectedly buoyant acidity. The wine is full-bodied and not young, but neither too old. And it’s neither Chardonnay-esque. I suspect oak barrel aging maybe slightly over the top. As time passes, stewed apricot dominates the nose and on the palate along with minerality. Great combination, if you ask me. And it gets better with time.

The wine is full of surprises, considering the vintage. It’s round, intense and mineral. I suspect it was late harvested. 2-3 hours later, burnt sugar and flowers. It’s even too intense. The autumn leaf smell is much appreciated. This wine really made my day.

Score: 6, 6+

Price: HUF 1 410, EUR 5,5-6

I’m confused. I found a statement on the web by Andreas Ebner about their varietals (Cabernet sauvignon 25 %, Cabernet franc 25 %, Merlot 25 %, Pinot noir 25 %) which does not include Chardonnay. I also read somewhere that Mr. Ebner made his 2006 Chardonnay from grapes he bought from other producers. But the label says it differently. Anyway. Mr. Ebner has (with or without Chardonnay) 6.5 hectares in the Mozsgó area, on Nyakashegy to be more precise near Mozsgó. I’ve never been there myself.

This is my last purchase in a row of seeking good value white wines under 5-6 euros a bottle for long, hot summer days. So far with little success (Chardonany, Furmint, and a positive example, a cuvée).

The review

Pale hay color with green reflections. It comes with some bobbles and with a smell of added sulphur dioxide which slowly disappears – too slowly. No floral notes but some aromas. Acids are palpable in the back of the tongue only, lasting not too long. I don’t expect so much acidity without fruity and floral compensation in a Chardonnay. It has a drop of gooseberry though, but altogether it’s a very simple wine with a sensation of added sparkling water. I tasted the Szabó Riesling from the day before, and it’s a whole other world.

This Ebner Chardonnay is perfectly suitable for college people drinking in group having a good time and a simple meal – this wine will definitely not distract the attention from the conversation. I’m really hesitating between 3+ and 4-.

Score: 3

Price: EUR 5

In one of the Guardian’s recent week-end editions I read about 10 things to appreciate in England’s absence from the Euro 2008 football cup and the fact that you can go to your cornershop anytime and you’ll find cold bier in Britan has reached a quite respective ranking on this list.

I am thankful that Hungary did not make it to the final either because Hungarians’ve been having a rubbish team since the mid-eighties. But it does not keep people from watching Euro 2008 games and drink beer. So why not change that beer for a wine for a change, I thought.

I wanted to have something widely available, cheap but drinkable – these must be the most important criteria for European Cup times, I thought. My intention was to give You a good hint for a not-so-frenetic Poland vs Croatia.

I ran into a sale of Chardonnay Barrique of Bezerics-Németh winery from the Balaton region on a hypermarket shelf (cheap and available). I cannot share too much information about the winery since their flash website does not run on firefox. But I remember having bought their Chardonnay and Cserszegi Fűszeres from Cserszegtomaj before and I always thought of them as good value for money in the low-end segment of Hungarian white wines. This Pogányvári Chardonnay Barrique for appr. EUR 4 must be a best-buy I thought (since barrique in Hungary frequently refers to a higher quality in the wineries’ will, hence more expensive too).

The review

The deep wheat color was accompanied by some strange smell after opening the bottle and by lots of bobbles (it’s not meant to be a sparkling wine however). You would expect relatively lot of sweetness from a wine from 2006 with 12,1% alcohol in it but this particular one did not deliver it. Instead, it fills your mouth with a not so fresh, heavy oaky taste and overly cooked corn meal supported by lot of acid and medium tannin. Grapefruit, quince and peer are also present with a soar finish, but nothing is in harmony with anything. Lot of wood and wet straw with stuffy smell and the stewed fruits cannot help it out. I cannot enjoy this wine, its errors are obvious but interestingly its potential as well. This wine could have been a very nice wine indeed but something went wrong during the élevage process. I’m sorry for Bezerics-Németh, they can do much better than this. But I wish I sticked to the beer instead. Or grabbed a bottle of Peljesac…

Score: 3- points

Price: EUR 4

I don’t even dare to translate the word “Bországgyűlés” for You, although the significant number of foreigners who visited the event despite the heavy rain which lasted almost the whole day would deserve a try. Anyway, it wasn’t a gathering of the nations’ parliamentary delegates of winemaking as the name would suggest, I was actually surprised by the small number of wineries present, but even more by their distribution within the festival area. Despite the intense grass and other natural smell coming from the surrounding park in the rain I tried to take tasting notes. My idea was that I would taste and review the winners of the VIIth Pannon Bormustra contest. Unfortunately very few of the winners actually exhibited at the Festival so I’ll indicate in the table below those who won the “Top Wine” awarded by a jury consisting of international experts like Dante Brancaleoni and winemakers like René Rostaing as well as Hungarian wine drinkers or so called experts. As always, please read the following report as a rough guide only, since I hardly ever spit during a wine tasting (unless the wine is really rubbish) and the local food selection has also provided a strong smelly background which certainly distorted the senses. So here’s a quick snapshot from the Festival, without any in-depth analysis.

Here’s a photo from the venue of one of Budapest’s most important wine festivals.