I fell for the hype. Having read the enthousiastic review few days ago on amuva.hu, I did not hesitate too much and I eventually ended up buying the 2 last bottles in the shop. Because this wine is not widely available in Budapest and I bought these two in a bookstore (well, I bought 2 other bottles in their other store a bit farther the same day).

According to a short self-introduction in a hidden corner of the web, Zoltán Szabó is an experimental winemaker currently owning only 2 hectars having mainly Chardonnay, Riesling and Zöldveltelini, plus 10 (!) local varietals from the Kárpát-bassin. He even made Aszú from Riesling for a try.

I couldn’t say I did not have high expectations.

The review

Bright lively hay color and lively moves in the glass.

It’s intense smell is an exotic mixture of fresh grass, minerals and flowers with a hint of tropical fruits, camilla and citrus. It’s almost like not only made of Riesling.

The taste is in sync with the smell but very quickly the acids wash away all other tastes. You have to wait more than an hour to enjoy more the taste and the wine to become a round, full-bodied (for a white) wine. But first citrus and peppermint are dominantand the acids provide a long finish. It also comes with a little bit of bubble sparkling.

Later the minerals become more palpable, almost dominant. At this moment it reminds me of Mandolás Furmint in style but wit more acid of course. Unfortunately the wine’s building blocks start to fall apart after only about 2 hours, but it’s still enjoyable.

For EUR 6, it’s a best buy. For those who like nice acids, this wine scores 0,5-1 points higher than for those who like a more balanced, round wine.

Score: 6+

Price: EUR 6

Furmint’s been emerging as a standalone dry wine recently from the shadows of the Aszú, following some really exceptional late harvest furmints (whose quality sometimes exceeds some mid-range Aszús). Hétszőlő’s been quite modest about their furmint and their shyness is a bit of a mystery. The 2004 was average, the 2005 was really not so bad.

I got some Hétszőlő Furmint 2006 few weeks after getting into bottles, long before being put on general sale and it was very promising even for a very young wine. Few months after it’s more developed, almost perfectly balanced. It’s traditionally bright coloured at Hétszőlő due to the soil (loess and clay on a base of vulcanic rocks) and the process of fermentation and maturing. It’s the exact opposite of the Mandolás Furmint from Oremus. Mandolás will be covered very soon, I still have a few bottles from the legendary 2003.

Hétszőlő is one of the most honest wineries in Tokaj and in the whole country. In poor years they produce average quality furmints and late harvests, but above the average of the competition. In better years, and when conditions are ideal for botritis rotting, they produce excellent Aszú. Their Kövérszőlő is one of the most enjoyable items in its category. Tibor Kovács is probably the most experimental wine maker in Tokaj. For him, terroir is more important than regulation, but we’ll talk about this later when we will be reviewing Aszú. And he’s an honest man too. He once told me that he believes that 80-90% depends on the grape, 10-20% (maximum) should depend on the winemaker. For sure, Hétszőlő owns some of the best slopes in Tokaj.

So let’s get to the note now.

Right after opening and for an hour, different types of apple and peach are dominant in smell. Almost crispy acid well balanced by extract sweetness (it’s still a dry wine). Taste like apple, after a while hazelnut, almond and later lots of locust! Few hours later acid and sweetness start to disintegrate, becoming more similar to a chilien chardonnay (like Sunrise), it’s halfway between it and a typical Juhfark from Somló. Marzipan flavor is dominant at the end.

Drink it really chilled, at around 10°C.

Score: 5+, 6- (easily could have been a strong 6+/7- with a longer lasting balance).

Price: HUF 1700 (EUR 6.5). Underrated, almost a best buy.

Some official background info: Harvesting is entirely manual. Fermentation takes place over a 10-day period in stainless steel tanks and the process is strictly temperature controlled (14 – 18°C). The wine is then gently filtered in order to maximise extraction and retain maximum flavour. It is bottled in February or March of the following year. The modern vats (built in 1992) are very close to the vineyards.