The New Face of
Hungary
with Pannon Bormíves Céh
at Simply Heathcotes, Manchester
Monday 19th March 2007
presented by Martin Ward and Krisztina Andrassy together with
winemakers Tibor
Gál (Gál Tibor Pincészet Winery),
Zoltán Heimann (Heimann Winery), Zsolt Liptai
(Pannonhalmi Borház) and Zoltán Kovács
(Disznókő Winery)
Hungary has over 85,000 hectares under vines in 22 wine regions, with 93 different varieties with more than 10 hectares of plantings: 75% of Hungary’s plantings are white grapes. Post-communism, the industry is very fragmented with very many, very small producers.
Tutored
Tasting & Seminar
with Dr Caroline Gilby MW
1999 Bock Cuvée
Barrique, Villany, 13%
From southern Hungary, this is a blend of 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30%
cabernet
franc and 5% merlot. It
is a very deep
garnet colour. Rather
straightforward
Bordeaux blend on the nose with some vanilla and plenty of toasty oak
and
tobacco notes. Very
nice palate: very
open, quite mature with a notably mature feel on the finish. A very pleasant, pleasing
wine. Very Good
Indeed. 89/100
2006 Bock Harslevelű
This comes from the hottest part of Hungary on the Croatian border. A mid golden colour. The nose is quite gentle
with apples, apple
pie and some citrus, together with a hint of caramel.
Rather simple on the palate, this is quite
full and again with a bit of an apple pie flavour, especially on the
finish. 86/100
2006 Tramini
Pannonhalmi
The grape here is proper French gewurztraminer grown on soils and in a
climate
similar to Alsace. A
mid lemon
gold. Heavy, syrupy
nose with lots of
rose petals and some serious minerality.
This is a fresh, light, notably dry gewurztraminer in the
mouth with
very good acidity. Simple
but
pleasing. 85/100
2005 Ostoros
Zweigelt, Eger
This comes from a cooperative winery and spends about a year in oak. It is a young, dark
mulberry colour and there
are subtle black fruits on the nose.
A
good, simple palate. This
is clean and
easy, with soft tannins and a nice fruity after.
Good.
84/100
2004 Gál Pinot Noir
This spends 12-14 months in new Hungarian oak.
It has a light, fairly mature-looking colour. The nose is a bit strange
initially, though
further exploration reveals big sous bois notes and a bit of cherry
fruit. Fairly full
on the palate, with lots of oaky
flavours. You know
it’s pinot noir, but
it could do with a bit more varietal character.
Maybe it needs food?
Good. 82/100
2003 Thummerer
Bikavér Reserve, Eger
Hungarian winemakers were not allowed to make Bikavér (the
old Bull’s Blood)
under communism: by law it is a blend of three varieties, though there
are four
varieties in this, including merlot and kekfrankos.
It has a very deep black plumskins
colour. Deep
blackberry, plums and
chocolate on the nose: very attractive.
A good open palate, that’s very attractive and
with a nice
spiciness. Very
good balance and a nice
character. Very
Good Indeed. 89/100
2004 Disznókő Late
Harvest Furmint
This has 89 g/l of residual sugar and 8g/l of acidity.
It is a bright lemon gold and has a fragrant,
honeyed, slightly marmaladey and apricots nose.
Notably sweet on the palate, but with good acidity. It has some nice, very
interesting fruit
characters, with apples and sweet oranges.
Some drying acidity on the finish.
Very Good Indeed. 89/100
1999 Disznókő Tokaji
6 puttonyos
1999 was an excellent vintage, possibly the best of the 1990s. This has 165 g/l of
residual sugar and 12.8
g/l of acidity. It
has a very gentle
nose – less obvious than the late harvest furmint –
with gentle apricot
fruit. It has
sweet, fresh golden fruit
flavours, but with some very serious acidity.
Very elegant, almost refreshing, were if not for a
somewhat lip smacking
quality. Very Good+. 88/100
Lunch Wines
Simply Heathcotes prepared a light, simple lunch, starting with a plate of starters containing a goats’ cheese terrine with candied walnuts, smoked salmon on a wholemeal blini with cucumber crème fraiche, and Woodall’s ham with homemade piccalilli. Unfortunately the blinis were burnt: the burnt side was down on the plate, presumably in the hope we wouldn’t notice. Main course was a fillet of turbot with braised oxtail, creamed potatoes and a vermouth and red wine sauce. Unfortunately the oxtail had been cooked too quickly and left to harden, and equally unfortunately there was a huge quarter of very undercooked fennel also on the plate. Considering the simplicity of the dishes, the errors were unforgiveable, and such lapses were all the more surprising given that Paul Heathcote was eating with us. The dessert plate was better handled and comprises some Blacksticks Blue cheese with fruitcake; a dark chocolate terrine with a very nice white chocolate and lime ice cream; and a strawberry and rosewater jelly.
The following wines were served, the first two as aperitifs:
2006 Garamvári
Cabernet/Merlot Rosé
A medium pink colour. Attractive
strawberries/raspberries and cream nose.
It has a decent, inoffensive palate, with some sweetness,
though it’s a
touch hard on the finish. Pleasant
and
inoffensive. 84/100
2000 Chateau Vincent
Extra Brut
A sparkling wine made from chardonnay and which spent two years on its
lees. It has a
crisp, citrussy nose with
a bit of lees character. Clean
and crisp
on the palate, this has a very pleasant austerity.
Very Good.
88/100
2006 Rajnai Riesling,
Pannonhalmi Apatsagi, 12%
Apparently this comes from vines that are still very young. It has an incredibly
minerally nose with some
zesty lime notes. It’s
full on the
palate with a nice riesling character.
It is bone dry, with very good acidity and a real chalky
minerality on the
palate. Great
character. Very
Good Indeed. 90/100
2005 Gál Pinot Blanc,
13%
There are crisp apples and melons on the nose.
Very clean palate: nice and crisp with some very
interesting
flavours. Super
length. Very Good
Indeed. 92/100
2004 Weninger Spern
Steiner
This is made from 40 year old kekfrankos vines grown very close to the
Austrian
border. The
vineyard will be biodynamic
from 2006 onwards. It
has a very deep,
somewhat youthful character. Lovely
nose
with black fruit and mushrooms. Very
nice character on the palate with a lovely balance.
Easy and attractive, with a nice character;
and soft-grained tannins are evident on the finish.
Very Good Indeed. 90/100
2004 Heimann Cervaes
Cuvée, Szeksard Region, 12.5%
This is a blend of kekfrankos, kadarka, cabernet franc and merlot. It has a fantastic nose
with a real fragrant
note, alongside black fruit and an earthy note.
Very good palate – initially very interesting,
followed up with a lovely
fruit character. Very
elegant, yet with
some quite sweet fruit. Very
Good
Indeed. 92/100
2004 Weninger &
Gere Cabernet Franc, Villany, 14%
This had a stinky nose that took ages to blow off, and the stink never
fully
went. This almost
has a nebbiolo note to
it with some greenness. Decent
palate,
though it has a rather weedy feel.
Overall, it lacks character and interest.
Though it works surprisingly well with the
fennel, though not with anything else.
81/100
2001 Hétfürtös Tokaji
Cuvée, Edes Elet, Arvay, 11.2%
Edes Elet is apparently Hungarian for la dolce vita.
It has an intense, concentrated nose with a
perfumed apricot character. Superbly
impressive attack. An
immense balance is
immediately evident. There’s
great
purity and freshness and a lovely character.
Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
94/100
2000 Hétfürtös Tokaji
6 puttonyos
A remarkably minerally nose with some very creamy caramel notes. Very direct attack. It’s not
immediately sweet at first, when
there’s a great elegance and an orange caramel flavour. The sweetness comes along
later, especially
on the finish. It’s
not the most
balanced of Tokajis in that respect.
Very Good+. 87/100
Other wines tasted
Native Whites
2006 Szőke Irsai
Oliver, Matra, 12%
A very pale straw. Floral,
fragrant nose
with a lemony minerality. Pure
and
direct palate. Rather
interesting, but
it has a hardness to it. 86/100
2006 Ostoros Leányka
An über minerally nose. Very
interesting
palate with good depth and nice layers of flavour.
Very minerally after.
Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
88-89/100
2004 Disznókő Late
Harvest Furmint
A lovely fragrant nose. Sweet
palate
without the acidity of others on show here today.
Quite a caramelly feel on the palate.
84/100
2005 Tornai Somloi
Harslevelű, 13%
A very curious nose, redolent of wine and cigars.
A bit odd on the palate too.
Quite austere. Odd.
82/100
2006 Garamvári Irsai
Olivér
A pleasant nose. Very
interesting on the
palate. More off
dry than sweet. A
rather interesting wine. 85/100
2000 Disznókő Tokaji
5 puttonyos
A curiously stinky nose. Nicely
balanced
palate. This is a
good full Tokaji, but
not extra special. 88/100
Red Blends
1999 Bock Cuvée
Barrique, Villany, 13%
65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% cabernet franc, 5% merlot.
This has a very perfumed black fruits nose
with some violet cream chocolates.
Decent palate. But
overall
there’s a bit of a green, under-ripe feel with some very
obvious tannins. 83/100
2002 Thummerer, Egri
Bikavér, Eger, 13%
A very pleasant nose with elegant black fruits and a touch of coffee. Rich, velvety palate. This has a very nice
character. Soft and
inviting, though possibly a bit of
an international feel. 87/100
2004 Cuvée Phoenix,
Weninger & Gere, 13%
A good nose with decent black fruit, but also a rubbery note. Good open palate: this
represents interesting
and nice easy drinking. 83/100
2003 Thummerer
Bikavér Reserve, Eger, 13.5%
A very attractive nose with complex black fruits, cedar and some
licorice. Lovely
palate: it has a nice directness,
which definitely does not equate to simplicity in this case: there are
layers
of flavours ending with a nice chocolatey feel.
Very Good Indeed. 90/100
2005 Ostoros Istar
Egri Cuvée, Szaraz, alcohol content not shown
There are rich, ripe black and red fruits on the nose, with a
blackberry-crème
de mûre note dominant. The
blackberry
fruit continues on the palate. This
feels quite direct and just a bit on the simple side, with rather young
tannins
on the finish. 87/100
Kekfrankos
2006 Ostoros Egri
Kekfrankos Rosé, Egri
www.ostorosbor.com
A very pale raspberry pink. Very
slight
nose with a notable manure-y note.
Nice
palate with lots of really good, giving fruit character. Nice finish.
87/100
2006 Le Sommelier,
Kekfrankos Rosé, Villany, Malatinszky Kúria,
12.5%
A very pale salmon pink. There’s
gentle
strawberry fruit on the nose with some good minerality.
It has a decent, direct palate with some
noticeable acidity. But
there’s also a
hardness, which makes it less than entirely appealing.
The acidity is especially noticeable on the
finish, when it becomes quite lip-tingling.
81/100
2004 Prestige
Kekfrankos, Weninger & Gere, Villany, 13.5%
This has a very meaty nose; slightly stinky/shitty.
Very nice palate: open and expressive, but
there’s also a really weedy, nettle-y feel on the palate with
some green
tannins, which end up giving an impression of a marked raw greenness. 85/100
2005 Weninger Sopron
Kekfrankos, 12.5%
From the Spern Steiner vineyard, which apparently has slate soils. Again, this has a very
meaty, shitty,
mourvèdre-like nose with blackberry fruit behind. Simpler than the Gere with
less terroir
“structure.” Good,
solid, fruity palate
with a nice richness and a nice spicing, together with good structure. This has a sort of
Chateauneuf du Pape nose
and an Hermitage palate. Very
Good
Indeed. 89/100
Tibor Gál and Pannonhalmi are imported by Malux Food & Wine, Hertfordshire.
Chateau Vincent, Garamvári and Gere are imported by Wines of Westhorpe, Yorkshire.
Disznókő is imported by Champagne & Chateaux, London.
Bock, Thummerer, Arvay, Gere, Weninger and Malatinszky are imported by Pannon Wine, Uxbridge.
Szőke is imported by Ten Green Bottles, Dorset.
(More Hungarian wines tasted here and here)
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Last updated: 8 November 2007