Hungarianwines.eu team is always eager to answer all the inquiries arriving in our mailbox, the email from Gilbert & Gaillard magazine was also answered, this is how it all began. Years by years several Hungarian wines are evaluated by the prestigious wine challenge (founded in 1989), and now the first ever comprehensive article has been published written by me, Ágnes Németh, owner and editor of Hungarianwines.eu.

Longer version accepted

On Hungarianwines.eu we often quote from other articles written about Hungarian wines, to make our readers curious and read the original article. Now the funny situation is that I quote from myself:)

“A small country with great pride, Hungary is home to 22 wine regions and more than 200 grape varieties. While domestic consumption has significantly dropped over the past two decades, producers are optimistic and seeking out new markets. Seasoned wine connoisseurs will undoubtedly find exciting wines by Hungarian winemakers, whether they are looking for indigenous rarities or outstanding examples of international varieties.”
It is an honour to have completed a work for this renowned wine magazine, and it is even more heart-warming for me that the longer version was published. I submitted the article of the required 1700 words, and another one of 2700 words, just in case. How can you squeeze a country into 1700 words? Certainly, an article like this can never be complete, but my aim was to give a basic introduction to this colourful wine country, and a snapshot of the recent wine consumption and export figures. Gilbert & Gaillard published an article about Tokaj in 2021, but this is the very first article about the whole country.
The magazine is in English, distributed in 22 countries, reaching hundreds of thousands of wine connoisseurs and professionals.
Thanks to Gilbert & Gaillard for the opportunity!

Read the article online on the 80th page here.

Read the wine reviews about A. Gere, Babarczi, Gál, Grand Tokaj, Sabar and Vylyan wines on page 125.

More about Gilbert & Gaillard

Beauty in bottle

The butterfly is a marvellous creature of God, no wonder the word for this insect is also beautiful in every language. Butterfly, mariposa, farfalla – and also ‘pillangó’, this word is one of the most beautiful words of our language. So is Vylyan Pillangó one of our most beautiful wines. Pillangó is one of the 4 Vylyan wines with Gilbert and Gaillard gold medal. The vineyard is going to be replanted, thus for a while there won’t be more Vylyan Pillangó, so you’d better stock some!

 

The wine is made of 100% Merlot, the grape comes from Pillangó vineyard, a west facing plateau in the shape of a butterfly spreading its wings. Fermentation took place at law temperature on the skin for 23 days. It matured for 16 months in 225 oak barrels made of Hungarian oak (Zemplén and Mecsek), 60% new, 20% two-year-old, 20% older. Only the best barrels were bottled as Pillangó.

Gilbert & Gaillard tasting panel gave 90 points to the wine and commented:
“Beautiful, deep colour with tile-red reflections. On the nose, jammy fruit mingle with hints of liquorice. The powerfulattack leads to a tannic but relatively light-bodied wine. Good balance, but needs to be enjoyed immediately.“

We agree with the review, except for the last sentence. This wine still has a few years to enjoy! But, of course it is great even now.

Vylyan wines are available in several countries, for example in Belgium by Global Wineries and in Poland by 2Bratanki. In case you are interested in importing, contact Janka Debreczeni of Vylyan.

More about Pillangó

More about Vylyan Vineyard and Winery

See all the 4 Vylyan wines on Gilbert & Gaillard

Jammertal Wine Estate, Villány

At the prestigious Gilbert & Gaillard International Wine Challenge 2023 Jammertal Wine Estate achieved another brilliant result: 3 of their wines received not only gold, but double gold medlas. Wherever this estate enters wines, it pours gold rain like cats and dogs.

Bordeaux blends from the Hungarian Mediterranean region

The southernmost wine region of Hungary has an ideal climate for the Bordeaux varieties. Jammertal Wine Estate and its winemaker, Zsófia Kövesdi loves playing with the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Merlot in their wines and this game is quite rewarding – as this and many other examples prove.
Until 30 November midnight, a 6 pack is available with 24% discount, which means that for two bottles of the three double gold winner wines each, customers should pay only 82 000 HUF / 217 EUR (instead of 108 000 HUF / 286 EUR).
Order now and you will receive the wines until 15 December. For shipping abroad contact the winery. The price may vary due to the actual exchange rates.

Gilbert & Gaillard comments about the wines

Koh-I-Noor 105.6 2017

Merlot (50 %), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Cabernet Franc (20%)
“Moderately sustained colour with garnet hues. Nose dominated by undergrowth (bark, moss, mushroom), ashy wood, and jammy wild berries. Refined on the palate, with well-integrated tannins. Elegant structure, ripe fruit. Balanced quality.” (92 points)
Would you like to know the reason for the number in the name of the wine? Zsófia Kövesdi will tell you!

Cassiopeia MCS*Achird 2018

Cabernet Sauvignon (80%), Merlot (20%)
“Light red with garnet reflections. Smoky woody nose, elegant ashy tones, notes of jammy fruit and dominant scents of undergrowth. Well-rounded on the palate, with well-integrated tannins. Moderate concentration and smooth ageing offer welcome suppleness.” (91 points)

Jammertal Blue Sky 2020

Cabernet Franc (95%), Merlot (5%)
“Fairly deep red with dark ruby hues. Delicately woody, vanilla and smoky on the nose, with a lovely display of ripe fruit(cherry, blackcurrant). Open, aromatic and powerful on the palate, with generous body, wood and soothing tannins. Promising future.” (90 points)

More about Jammertal Wine Estate

Read our earlier article about Zsófia Kövesdi’s great acknowledgement:

Zsófia of Jammertal: Female Winemaker of the Year!

Read our earlier article about four 90+ Jammertal wines on WineAdvocate.com 

Quadruple Jammertal success on WineAdvocate.com