Wine & Spirits - June 2013 - (Page 71)

Year’s Best HUNGARiAN wiNes Our blind panels tasted 49 new-release Hungarian wines over the past 12 months. Tara Q. Thomas, our critic for Hungary, rated 25 as exceptional (90+) and 7 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. 90 | Fekete Béla W HI T E Matra 188697 89 | M. & Z. Szoke ˝ $13 2011 Mátra Zöld Veltelini (Best Buy) ^ The Szo ˝kes tend 62 acres of vines at the base of Kékes, the highest peak of the volcanic chain that winds south to Tokaj. Their zöld veltelini (grüner veltliner) is richer than those that come out of Austria, with an abundance of ripe yellow and green plum flavor and a cashmere texture. It’s a touch hot—a white pepper note that’s got more burn than the variety’s typical spice—but it’s also built for bigger dishes, like a veal blanquette. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA 188702 87 | M. & Z. Szoke ˝ $13 2011 Mátra Pinot Gris (Best Buy) ^ There’s a nutty, saline savor to this ripe, golden gris, an autumnal white with a rustic edge that will grip a pork chop. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA SoMlo 188731 92 | Spiegelberg $37 2010 Somló Szent Ilona Olaszrizling ^ István Spiegelberg started making wine as a hobby, a reprieve from his job test-driving BMWs in Munich. In 2007, he moved to his mother’s hometown of Somló, and turned his full attention to his vineyard, five acres he handpicks mostly by himself. This might be the loveliest welschriesling I’ve ever tasted, a big, busty wine with expansive flavors. All the honeysuckle, sage and peach nectar flavor radiates from a core of volcanic minerality, the firm acidity giving it a regal stance. It’s elegant, ready for a salt-crusted branzino. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA 188730 91 | Spiegelberg $37 2010 Somló Szent Ilona Furmint ^ This furmint fairly rumbles with volcanic energy, a dark mineral strength that adds a ruddy, ferrous blush and firmness to its roasted peach fruit. It’s ripe and peppery, a powerful wine for mangalitsa pork, roasted until melting. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA 188739 $25 2009 Somló Juhfark ^ At 84 years old, Fekete Béla still tends his ten acres of vineyard in Somló by himself, lending some credence to the old Hungarian belief that juhfark has health-giving properties. His version is as sharp and mineral as a Fino Sherry, with a wooly, lanolin-like texture padding the searing acidity. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it would make short work of grilled bluefish. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA tokaj 188387 96 | Szepsy $110 2008 Tokaji Szent Tamás Furmint ^ István Szepsy is one of the most respected winemakers in Tokaj, a man who produced wine throughout the Communist era both in a cooperative and in his own artisan winery. He went on to launch Királyudvar with Anthony Hwang of Domaine Huet, where he and winemaker Zoltán Demeter pioneered the concept of a high-quality dry furmint. His own 2008 from the revered Szent Tamás vineyard shows how far this idea has come. It has the noblesse of a grand old Burgundy with a distinctly furmint flavor, smoky and peppery with a limey edge. The acidity moves trippingly through the stony flavor, firming the wine even while keeping it agile and lively. As it lasts, the flavors go deeper, as if reaching through layers of volcanic soil. It will last well another decade at least, although it’d be delicious now with roast sweetbreads and bacon. § Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY 188704 93 | Bott $30 2011 Tokaji Csontos Furmint ^ József Bodo farms three acres of old vines in the steeply sloping Csontos vineyard. His wife, Judit, takes over in the cellar, employing a traditional wooden Hungarian press and native yeasts to ferment the wine in 220-liter old oak barrels. It’s elegant, with a quartz-like clarity to the honey-ripe fruit, a taut line of limey acidity streamlining its broad, firm body. Spice and citrus notes shine through the density like gold flakes, a quiet touch of opulence to balance its restraint. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA 188084 93 | Királyudvar $20 92 | Demeter Zoltán $60 92 | Szepsy $40 90 | Demeter Zoltán $60 2010 Tokaji Sec Furmint ^ Even before its identity was revealed to the panel, this vintage of Királyudvar’s dry furmint inspired several tasters to draw comparisons to regal Loire chenins—remarkable given that the winery is owned by the same man who owns Huet. In part it’s the way the prodigious peach fruit wraps around the wine’s minerality, round and smooth; it’s also due to the minerality—more chalk than smoky volcano (someone said it tasted like peaches mashed up with chalk), and powerful enough to carry the sweet fruit firmly into the savory realm. The acidity is electric yet doesn’t intrude on the wine’s smooth texture, maintaining its freshness for days after opening. § The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA 188719 2009 Tokaji Szerelmi Hàrslevelú ^ Opulent and complex, this demolishes any fallacies about hàrslevelú being incapable of greatness. Off 60-year-old hàrslevelú vines planted on the pure loess soils of the Tokaj hill and fermented in barrel, it comes on like a sweet wine, rich in honey and deep yellow fruit; then the acidity rounds it up with authority and precision, revealing the savory side. It lasts, sandy and salty with a pink peppercorn spice, the hazelnut richness contrasted by dry, floral notes of chamomile and Kaffir lime peel. § Blue Danube Wine Co., Los Altos Hills, CA 188386 2009 Tokaji Furmint ^ Straight out of the bottle this is intimidating, with a fire underneath the pineapple-ripe fruit that suggests the volcanoes under the vines aren’t as dormant as believed. Air takes the edge off, folding the funky asafetida spice into the fruit and calming it into a nutty, wheaty richness. Still, it feels as layered in on itself as a croissant, needing a few more years (or a rack of lamb) to mellow. § Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY 188724 2011 Tokaji Veres Furmint ^ This comes off 30-year-old vines planted on rhyolitic tufa, very light rocks that Demeter says look like WINE & SPIRITS JUNE 2013 71 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2013

Wine & Spirits - June 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Fined & Filtered
Letter from Bordeaux
Mezcal
Destination: Atlanta, GA
Napa Cabernet, Interrupted
Tempranillo à la Chambolle
Mezcal in Mexico City
Value Brands of the Year
Introduction
Top Values of the Year at $15 or less.
Ribera del Duero
Southern France
Southern Italy
Hungary
American New Releases
Imported New Releases
Books

Wine & Spirits - June 2013