Anybody tried Hungarian wines beside obviously Tokaji? Recently discovered some grapes I never heard about before. Great wines. Highly recommend to try.
Kolonics, Karvaly Juhfark Nagy-Somlo 2017
Kikelet, Lonyai Harslevelu Tokaji 2018
Had a 2019 Bencze Pinot Noir the other day.
It was pretty delicious. Very light in style.
(Disclaimer: it is a natural wine with some funk).
1 Like
Iâve been a big fan and proponent of Juhfark and HĂĄrslevelƱ and especially the SomlĂłi wines!
Itâs hard to find Juhfark outside SomlĂł as it is a variety thatâs grown only for some 100 hecateres in the world and a lionâs share of that is on the slopes of the SomlĂł hill. The remaining few plantings are in Slovakia and in Hungary.
I havenât tasted Juhfark outside of SomlĂł, but it really thrives on the volcanic soils of SomlĂł, producing wines of intense acidity and minerality. The variety needs to be picked very ripe, but fortunately it doesnât produce much sugar even when fully ripe (at least in the Hungarian climate) so the wines often are of modest alcohol, and thanks to the volcanic soil, the grapes retain crazy acidity even when very ripe. Definitely my favorite Hungarian variety and also one of my favorite white varieties in the world. If you can find older vintages of Fekete, they are simply outstanding. SomlĂłi VandĂłr is also a name to keep in mind.
People usually rave about Furmint since itâs so ubiquitous in most Hungarian wine regions and famous for being the main component in Tokaji wines. However, people donât seem to realize that Furmint is only best suited for botrytized wines because it tends to fare better with botrytis than HĂĄrslevelƱ. However, HĂĄrslevelƱ is normally more responsible of the aromatics and complexity in a young Tokaji and when it comes to dry white wines, HĂĄrslevelƱ tends to produce wines with more depth, complexity and aromatic interest than the more neutral and aromatically more one-dimensional Furmint, while both varieties excel in high acidity and minerality. I do love a great dry Furmint, because it is not unlike an Hungarian take on Rheingau Riesling or Loire Chenin, but for me, HĂĄrslevelƱ is more of a unique wine altogether. IstvĂĄn Szepsy, the legendary Tokaji winemaker, makes some exceptional dry HĂĄrslevelƱ and Furmint wines that are definitely well worth checking out.
1 Like
the grape variety to watch out for is KĂ©kfrankos â across the border in Burgenland known as BlaufrĂ€nkisch â
and the Hungarians are paying keen attention to what the best growers in the Austrian federal state formerly known as Deutsch-Westungarn are doing
Iâve dabbled after visiting in 2019. The dry whites had the more lasting impression on me than the reds.
When I can find in my market, have purchased Furmint wines, especially those from Tokaj.
Trade Joeâs has a nice grĂŒner veltliner for $4.99
Just had it last night with seafood 
Deleted.
I canât remember if it was Villaney or not, but some Hungarian Cabernet Franc I had about a decade ago was one of the greatest surprises of my 30 odd years of wine drinking. It was less than ÂŁ10 and was absolutely delicious.
Recently bought some ĂldĂĄs Egri BikavĂ©r, St Andrea 2018, waiting for it to be delivered, I will post on what it tastes like.
1 Like
Estevan Szepsyâs dry Furmints are incredible. As a matter of fact all of his wines are amazing.
1 Like
Tokaji ChĂąteau Pajzos 5 Puttonyos. Had that about 12 years ago, really liked it.
1 Like