Hungarian Wine Challenge – 11 to 15
When I set out to see if I could find 100 Hungarian wines in 27 days, I was clear I didn’t want to just stay in Budapest. Hungary has 22 wine regions and Budapest is only in one of them! This website is all about combining my love of wine, travel, people and creativity. Part of the challenge for me was also around solo travelling to places I’ve never been before.
A day in Badacsonytomaj
Lake Balaton is the largest stretch of fresh water in Hungary. Historically the area was volcanic and this most definitely influences the flavour and structure of the wines here. The minerality is evident in the wines and consequently the other elements of the wines have to balance that out. And if you don’t understand what minerality is, don’t worry, you’re in good company! Its one of those wine terms which is very difficult to describe! Generally it encompasses things such as salt, the smell of wet stones, flint, and chalk. We don’t usually eat or drink these, so they are often unfamiliar.
Anyway, Badasconytomaj was a nice day out. With the exception of 7 hours on a train with no air condition and 35 degree heat, it was a lovely place to visit. I visited two wineries – Valibor and Fata. Valibor have a nice tasting room / cafe in the town centre, which offers nice views of the church opposite. Fata is a little further walk from there, and is a small winery, but has the advantage of views of the Hill. If you get chance to visit, I’d take it!
So anyway, on to the next 5 wines.
Wine 11 – Valibor Olaszrizling
This was a dry wine with fresh notes of apple, stone fruit, lemon. Relatively light bodied with some spicy and mineral notes. There was a good acidity and some delicate florality on the finish.
To me this was a 86 point wine.
Wine 8 – Valibor Ottonel Muskotály
The nose on this was extremely floral – elderflower, blossom. On the palette, it had flavours of apple, pear and light stone fruits and was much dried than the nose would suggest. I found this a very simple, but drinkable wine. Slight notes of minerality were also present.
Here I would say 85 points, but this is a very good example of this variety.
Wine 13 – Valibor Kéknyelű
This wine was beautiful. The oak and creaminess here was very well balanced with minerality. Flavours of quince, gooseberry, apple and very good use of acidity. This was a medium plus finish with the flavours lingering on the palette.
For me this was an 90 point wine. And not many wines get that high a score from me!
Wine 14 – Valibor Rozé
This wine was a blend of Pinot Noir, Kékfrankos and Syrah and was dominated by red fruits – strawberries and red apple. There was a good level of minerality which in this wine was nicely balanced with the fruit. The Syrah makes this a little more of a serious rosé, with more complexity. It was a little floral on the nose.
For me this was an 85 point wine.
Wine 15 – Valibor Syrah
The wine was a very delicate Syrah, not the heavy oaky expression many will be used to. It showed great versatility of the grape. It was fruity and light bodied. Light oaking and tannins really balanced this wine out. I noticed some herbacious flavours on the nose, but not so strongly on the palette. This had a good finish, and was not overwhelmed by oaking.
This was an 89 point wine for me.
Stay tuned for more!
So thank you for stopping by for the third five wines. I hope to see you back to check out the next five! And in the meantime, keep exploring this beautiful planet we live on, one glass at a time!