Record number of Hungarian wineries in Düsseldorf

With 51 exhibitor booths Hungary will have true visibility at ProWein, and in Central Eastern Europe with this number of wineries Hungary leads – after Austria. There will so many great estates, so it would be hard to pick only a few “must-visit” wineries, thus we will pick more. Today we recommend 5 excellent red wines and tomorrow we will come back with 5 price-value champions. Don’t forget, your “must-visit” place is Hall 11!

To see our 5 fabulous white wines recommendation, click here

Alpha – a star was born, Heritage Wines / Vesztergombi, Hall 11 / F33

Vesztergombi Cellar wines will be poured by Heritage Wines (Cabolo Ltd) at ProWein.

At the latest edition of Berliner Wine Trophy 2 of the grand gold winners were from Szekszárd: Alpha 2017 by Vesztergombi Cellar is one of them. Alpha has an exciting story – we, Hungarianwines contributed in the selection of the name for the wine, we released a call for being a godfather, and one of our readers, Michał B. Paradowski suggested the name Alpha for this special wine. As Csaba Vesztergombi said about 2017 vintage: “Every winemakers deserves a once in a lifetime vintage, 2017 is the one for us.”. Several of his 2017 wines won international accolades, and Alpha, the essence of this vintage started its glorious marching in Berlin and continued – the latest accolade is gold medal from Portugal Wine Trophy along with also gold winner Vesztergombi Bodzás Merlot 2017 and silver winner Vesztergombi Kétvölgy Kékfrankos 2018.

More about Vesztergombi Cellar

Görögszó Kékfrankos – Fruit of old vines, Dúzsi Hall 11 / F29

Tamás Dúzsi, founder of Dúzsi Family Winery in Szekszárd has always believed in Kékfrankos grape variety. He is a great rosé wine producers, he has a whole range of rosés, he is even dubbed as the Rosé King of Hungary. At the latest edition of Berliner Wine Trophy Dúzsi received two gold medals: one for his Dúzsi Kékfrankos Rosé 2020 and one for Dúzsi Görögszó Kékfrankos Selection 2019, a single vineyard red wine. In Görögszó vineyard vines are about 30 year old, they give concentrated fruit and barrel ageing gave the wine more complexity and structure.

More about Dúzsi Family Winery

Aureus – A vigorous 10 year-old-wine, Gere Tamás & Zsolt, Hall 11 / E30

Many Hungarian wineries are blamed for releasing their wines too early. Well, Tamás Gere and his son, Zsolt Gere in Villány are far from selling their wines without bottle ageing. They are patient and time is on their side. Recently Tamlyn Currin on JancisRobinson.com has given 16.5 points to Aureus Cuvée 2012, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. “Rich caramelised-fruit nose. Plums and damsons, moving into the dried-fruit and Christmas-spice spectrum with bright flecks of candied orange peel and dried apricots. Caraway seeds. Pretty vigorous tannins – I wonder what they were like eight years ago! It might even benefit from being decanted. But it has aged with grace and is certainly far from senescent. There is also a long, cool freshness running the spine. Intense, vibrant, velvet and black stones.“

More about Gere Tamás & Zsolt Winery

Heimann & Sons Kadarka – for meditative souls, Hall 11 / D20

Heimann Family Estate in Szekszárd is famous for its fine, but blockbuster red wines like Barbár, which, as the name suggests is a powerful, complex, full bodied red wine, a blend made of international varieties (plus Kékfrankos). Son of the founder, Zoltán Heimann junior with Heimann & Sons project has brought a different philosophy to the estate: focus on local grapesKékfrankos and Kadarka, sustainable viticulture with low intervention, single vineyard wines to reflect the terroir. Recently Tamlyn Currin on JancisRobinson.com has given high scores to his wines, Heimann & Sons Porkoláb-völgy Kadarka 2020 received 17 points. “Cinnamon and cherry juice. Fragrant. Hibiscus. Achingly elegant and pretty. Redcurrants and white pepper. Gossamer-fine tannins pressed into spices and stems. More angular than vineyard-blend Kadarka, but mapped in more detail. This has Kadarka’s vintage-ruby-stained-glass-window transparency and fragilitybut it also has the lead lining, the framework, the strength that comes from diamond leading. If a wine could be a meiosis, this would be the wine. Almost an imprint of itself, but in exquisite detail. You have to have a meditative soul to appreciate the full beauty of this young winemaker’s Kadarka.“

More about Heimann & Sons

Franc Variations – double toy for adults, Vylyan, Hall 11 / E30

Vylyan Vinyard and Winery from Villány is famous for its elegant, subtle red wines, and from time to time they astonish their followers something exciting. The latest experimental project is Franc Variations, a duo pack of two bottles. The grape for both bottles came from the same vintage, the same vineyard, the same variety (Cabernet Franc), harvested at the same time, the only difference is the ageing vessel, the way the “wine was breathing“. The amphora aged wine mirrors Villány terroir without any mask, while the barrel aged wine is enhanced with the notes of the new wood. To compare the two bottles, the spot the tiny nuances, to realize and identify the differences is the ultimate experience for the advanced wine connoisseurs. The amphora aged Cabernet Franc showcases fresh and dried sour cherry, dogberry and dark chocolate. Soft, clayish texture, ripened, integrated tannins. Ultimate balance. It is advised to air the wine for 1-2 hours before tasting. The nose of the barrel aged wine begins with cedar with a little vanilla, coconut and rum. The palate is pleasantly grippy with flavours of sloe, sour cherry and dark chocolate. Its warmish spicy taste is reminiscent of clove. “We love both wines, though they each represents a different world. We believe the best experience is to taste them together, this is why we sell them in a duo pack. If you can afford, lay a pack in your cellar. We are also very curious about the lifespan of the wines!”

More about Vylyan Vineyard and Winery

Find all Hungarian exhibitors at ProWein here