Wine of the Weekend

Mátra is a wine region to watch – mountainous area, volcanic soil, ambitious winemakers –, and Sol Montis is a leading family winery of the region. They make  estate wines in the best vintages, at the base of the pyramid we can find classic varietal wines and maybe the most remarkable is the range in between, the premium line with approachable, easy drinking, fruity wines, mostly blends with enchanting names like these:

– ‘Illangó’ is an aerated semi dry Muscat Ottonel. The name is a pun, since ‘pillangó’ means butterly and ‘illan’ is a verb meaning ‘disappear in a second’).

– ‘Naplevente’, a dry blend of Tramini, Muscat Ottonel and Yellow Muscat. The name – again a pun – comes from ‘Naplemente’ meaning ‘sunset’, but mixed with an ancient male first name, Levente.

– ‘Zitakötö’, a late harvest dessert wine made of Tramini. A wine created by the father, the founder of the winery to his daughter, Zita, who is also a winemaker and an ambitious manager of not only the estate, but the wine region is well (she is the president of Mátra Council of Winemakers). The name of the wine is a pun again: ‘szitakötő’ is dragonfly in Hungarian, a sleek, beautiful insect of spring meadows, but the beginning of the word is replaced with Zita, the name of the daughter.

My Mátra – a new release community wine

Villány has Villányi Franc and RedY, Eger has Egri Bikavér and Egri Csillag, Balaton wine regions have BalatonBor, no wonder other wine regions follow suit, and this May 6 Mátra winemakers released MyMátra. The white wine aims to target young customers with its youthful label. The blend and its regulation were created with the help of András Horkay wine expert, founder of CEWI wine school.

MyMátra regulations

– It is fermented and aged in stainless steel, barrel use is not allowed.
– The blend should contain minimum 3 aromatic grape varieties. Each should be minimum 10% and maximum 35%.
– These aromatic vareties are Irsai Olivér, Cserszegi fűszeres, Muscat Ottonel, Yellow Muscat and Tramini. These varieties should contribute to the blend with a minimum of 70% altogether.
– The rest 30% could be: Sauvignon Blanc, Rizlingszilváni, Zöldveltelini, Zenit and Királyleányka.
– MyMátra is dry, crispy, refreshing with medium plus acidity and medium alcohol content. The nose shows floral and fruity, perfumy notes complemented with mineral tones from the volcanic soil of Mátra.

The 6 MyMátra wineries in the first (2021) vintage: Bárdos, Kovács, Dubicz, Ákos, Nyilas and Sol Montis.

More about Sol Montis winery