I started the International Perspective blog entry category for orientation purposes and the most difficult thing about it is finding peer group members in the international space on reasonable ground. I have no strick rules so I thought I just would pick 2 wines (possibly of similar size on territory size parity, for Hungary being quite small) within a certain price range.
This time however I’ve chosen 2 well-known Wachau Riesling wines and tasted them against a relatively unknown Hungarian producer. To be fair, all vintages are widely considered good or outstanding.
I reviewed Szabo Zoltán’s Riesling 2006 recently. It was fresh, with intense floral and grassy nose with a hint of vanilla. On the palate citrus and peppermint, supported by robust, rustic acidity and intense aromas mostlyderiving from long lee contact. And stony minerality. The nose and the palate were in harmony in this full-bodied wine. It has wild but pleasant complexity. It also kept its quality for a day.
Few weeks later I noticed a smoky undertone, some woody accents and unripe apricot.
Score: 6+/7-
Jamek is one of the best-known Wachau winemakers. The Jamek Riesling Jochinger 2007 was brighter than Szabo’s riesling, with crab apple nose. On the palate greenish acidity supporting crab apple, grapefruit and minerality with herbal accents. Very refreshing, still round wine. The traubi-like bitterness provides pleasant freshness along with the young but already elegant acidity. The bouquet is later completed with paraffin.
It’s overall a young, fresh, dynamic wine which is pleasant to drink and has a local character.
Score: 5, 5+
I thought opening a Smaragd would be unfair. So I opened a Domane Wachau Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel 2005 inadvertently. But it turned out to be good because I only noticed my mistake after a few sips and to my biggest surprise I found the followings.
Medium gressy color with greenish reflections. Rich bouquet, intense, lovely floral and fruity nose (mango, citruses, walnut), very elegant, very pleasant to sniff.
Nicely styled on the palate but shows different character, less aromas. A bit woody and bitter with long acidity. Wet grass on the palate much later with minerality. The day after the grass element is even longer and more intense. Almost full body. Good wine but slightly disappointing for HUF 4 500 (EUR 18) against Szabó Zoltán’s HUF 1 500 (EUR 6).
Score: 6, 6+