I can’t recall any Kékfrankos I ever really liked, Ráspi and Luka also considered. If you feel about the varietal the way I do, then keep on reading.

Orsolya Pince – Kékfrankos, 2008

Muddy ruby hue, very unattractive, but what follows could be the definition of unusual. Intense and ample nose with notes of anise which will soon develop into cocktail cherries. On the palate caramelized anise supported by moderate acidity, later with oyster and scallop stock flowing into a fairly long finish. Small bodied wine but exciting and full of surprises.

As long as structure and integration is concerned, this is the opposite of well defined wine, but it makes sense.

I realise that you might have different opinion about this wine since no one in my company that evening found it half as interesting as I did, although no one present is as geeky as I am either.

That evening we’ve also finished off a Bolyki Indián Nyár 2007 which is a Kékfrankos-based blend but it wouldn’t be fair to compare it to Orsolya’s, which costs twice as much anyway.

The "breakthrough" Laurent-Perrier Brut 1993

In February 2011 for the first time ever I chose to buy a Pezsgő (Hungarian sparkling wine), it was entirely my decision without being suggested by my wife, a big fan of Champagne. It started some years ago with our New Eve sparkling breakfasts, then one thing led to another and I can state that I now enjoy sparkling wines as much as I enjoy any other wine. The breakthrough came with a Laurent-Perrier Brut 1993 few weeks ago with its delightfully structured style, smoothly integrated palate and mature harmony only found in vintage wines.

Hungarian sparkling wines (or at least those made using traditional method, which I buy) are, of course, modest compared to the Champagnes. But I enjoy some of the rosés and I found this Chateau Vincent Evolution Rosé, 2005 particularily delightful.

It is made of 100% Pinot Noir which makes it look onion peel colored with some brassy reflections. It smells of yeast and toasted bread but it’s more aromatic and fruity on the palate with a bit of residual sugar (20g/L) which I find rather pleasant in this wine (in many white wines in fact), supported by firm apple flavoured acidity. Realtively fleshy mouthfil with aromas of chalky strawberry jam and toasted bread flowing into a very long yeasty finish with hints of pistache.

This is a very good effort, perhaps the best I have seen in its category and it confirms Garamvári Szőlőbirtok (best known as Ch. Vincent) as one of my two favorite Pezsgő makers of the regrettably short list of Pezsgő makers.

Note : pictures have been missing lately because my DSLR had broken and I couldn’t fix it yet so this and the last few pictures were taken with a budget mobile phone camera.

This is a wine from my preferred range: I don’t feel comfortable buying cheaper red wines (HUF 3300) but I can’t afford spending more on wine every time I feel like having a good red one (which is more often than I like to admit). So this better be good.

Heimann – Birtokbor, 2007

A blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot and 15% Kékfrankos this wine has seen 18 months in used oak barrels.

Clean and vibrant medium ruby hue. The nose is a touch reduced showing sweet fruity with traces of wood. This wine smells of gage and plum with strawberry added to the fruit profile.

Elegantly styled palate with smooth acidity and finely composed structure with well handled, yet well defined tannins. Faded notes of clove and other spices also imply smart use of oak. Light but well balanced palate although some might find the 14.5% alcohol sweetness over the top. Open and accessible wine with a good length, but rather restrained in terms of aromas. Lovely texture.

Following the Juhfark in Saturday’s post, I’ve become curious about other  Somlói Apátsági wines and I didn’t hesitate to open a young Furmint.

Somlói Apátsági Pince – Furmint, 2008

Shiny deep golden yellow with a vibrant brownish tone.

Very intense nose of higly concentrated minerals and honey with a botrytis accent. A nice weight on the palate. Savory and minerally first, a bit dull and tart from the midpalate. Tea notes emerge over a deep and concentrated layer of minerals, preceding traces of oak.

Somlói Apátsági Pince have built a cult following over the years. Their wines showing an even heavier character and rocky edge in the last two years I really wonder if they can break into the mainstream but I have doubts. I’m looking forward to see where they’re heading next.

It’s time for me to catch up with my other Somló favorite Spiegelberg.

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.

A century ago Hungary arguably used to be very good at making sparkling wines using Méthode Champenoise. I have no idea what those wines were like and I’m absolutely sure that no one at Törley has more clue than most of us. It is, therefore, an abuse of heritage to put the information about the founders of the original winery everywhere for marketing purposes, including the label. For those unfamiliar with Hungarian history and its present: we’re absolutely unable to transfer values from pre-WW1 to the present although we like to look at ourselves as a culturally evolved bunch of geniuses. I’m sure that the traditional method didn’t change much over the century (otherwise they wouldn’t call it traditional I suppose), everything else did.

Although I believe that if spakling wines are featured on this blog then perhaps other alcoholic beverages like Cognac should too, I think that the tiny supply of fine Hungarian sparkling wines will not take too much space from Hungarian wines. So here’s the tasting notes of one of Hungary’s finest.

Francois Président Rosé Brut

Peach and brassy hue, charming as rosé sparklings tend to be, with many tiny bubbles. Very restrained nose with only some yeasty notes. On the palate it’s very dry as one might expect. Ultra-light and not very aromatic, with acidic backbone being the prime and almost only feature on the palate. Good length though.

This is 10% more expensive than Kreinbacher’s rosé spakling wine and I prefer it to Francois. Considering the labour intensity of the method, both wines are reasonably priced though.

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.

I had to buy this wine, and although it may look like I’m obsessed with Tóth István’s wines I want to make it clear that they’re not that good. But they’re not bad either and if the northern winemaker’s wines are not exactly enigmatic, they’re certainly different from not just the mainstream wines, but most terroir wines too. Knowing that, who wouldn’t buy a Kékfrankos made in 2003, with so little to lose (HUF 2000)?

But before you do, you should know that this wine will devide opinions. Some of you will pour, taste, spit and perhaps never return to this blog if I don’t make this disclaimer.

Tóth István, Kékfrankos, 2003

Blurred, deep ruby with brownish tones and a terracotta rim (so far this could be any Tóth István wine). Another trademark of his will follow on the nose: mouldy, earthy and stuffy and that won’t change with time. On the palate red fruity notes mingled with meaditerranean spices. Hard structure with tannin providing firm underpinning to the rubber taste substance but the tannin will smoothen and become softer after longer contact with the air. The acidity won’t, it remains harsh especially in the finish.

Only for hard core terroir fans who are not afraid of old barrels.

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.

I didn’t disappear for more than a week because I didn’t drink anything good but because I’ve been drinking too much lately. Mostly in public and mostly way too much and I don’t expect that December would be any better. But fortunately I still managed to spend some quality time alone with some lovely wines, like this one right now when I’m writing this post and will publish soon, although not the subject matter Olaszrizling from Csopat but that’ll be another post anyway.

I asked the winemaker which is the single best white wine he’d recommend me to take away and he picked this one without any hesitation. Although I heard winemakers from North-Balaton complain about 2007 I took it.  You may want to read about this visit and his Syrah 2006, and also about his artisanal ways here.

Tamás Pince – Olaszrizling, 2007

Mature, medium deep vibrant golden yellow. Very densely styled but fairly fresh nose, packed full of citrus fruits and mustard. It evolves into sweet citrus with a minerally uppertone. On the palate lively acidity carries a massive layer of minerality. Very much like Szabó Zoltán’s classic Rajnai Rizling except a fading tart finish and it’s a touch woody too. Very juicy with lemon zest and grapefuit flavoured acidity mingled with adorable salty minerality stretching into a long finish. It seems to develop a more moderately fresh, less acidic character with longer exposure to air.