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.

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.

This is a blend of 34% Olaszrizling, 28% Chardonnay, 26% Leányka and 12% Viognier. Of these, 15% is alcohol.

Lovely vibrant lemon yellow. Exciting nose of salty-chalky minerals mingled with light honey and veggie stock. Slightly sweet on the palate, with Viognier being dominant in taste, overly so if you ask me. Hours later melon aroma emerge.

Serve chilled!

I tasted this wine with friends few weeks ago when this wine stood out with its charming warmth and unusually complex character, and I promised I would buy a bottle and write a review. Here it is.

Orsolya – Abrakadabra, 2008

Lovely vibrant golden yellow with lemon reflections.

Fairly exciting minerally bouquet of rich chalky saltiness mingled with light honey and veggie stock. Unlike last time, on the palate dominantly Viognier, certainly less impressive today. It was broad and complex, now it’s much simpler in character, but creamy and fairly weighty with 15% alcohol hidden behind. I must admit that this bottle wasn’t very well handled when it landed in my hands so this might be the reason for its underperformance.

What really impresses about the wine is its finesse and complexity two days after opening. Creamy, minerally and well-balanced, displaying late harvest notes of sun-dried apricot and ripe papaya. Truly extraordinary when I last tasted this wine, an unusual and good wine this time.

What I wrote yesterday about Tóth István’s Kékfrankos 2003 applies for all of his wines, with more or less minor changes. So instead of repeating myself I present you the delta between the two wines.

First of all this is a blend, a Bikavér as we know it but don’t let this convention confuse you. The only difference on the nose is that this Bikavér has more wild mushroom notes and some sour cherry, but fundamentally very barrell influenced just as the Kékfrankos. The tannin’s a bit scratchy sometimes.