iwc Archives - Hungarianwines

International Wine Challenge appreciates Hungarian varietials

Hungarianwines.eu — Fri, 14 May 2021 12:38:41 +0000

Hungary won 3 gold, 11 silver, 10 bronze medals and 7 ‘commended’ acknowledgements at IWC, the British wine competition which is considered to be the most rigorous and impartial.

The best dry white is Tornai Top Selection Szent Ilona Olaszrizling 2019 from Somló, the best red wine is Heumann Trinitás 2016, from Villány, the best sweet wines are Royal Tokaji and Juliet Victor Tokaji Aszú wines.

Indigenous varietals captivate judges

Let us take a look at the gold winner: all of them are made of local grapes. The aszú wines are from Furmint (in the JV aszú Hárslevelű and Sárgamuskotály is used as well), and Tornai Top Selection Szent Ilona Olaszrizling 2019 is obviously from Olaszrizling, a versatile grape with a lot of potential. As for the silver winners, we can find again some Tokaj wines made of Furmint and Hárslevelű, Tornai again with Somló iconic grape Juhfark, and also a sparkling wine from Kreinbacher made of Chardonnay and local Furmint.

Orange blossom from Saint Ilona

Ilona is a common name in Hungarian and also in Finnish – meaning ‘joy’ in Finnish language. Saint Ilona or Helena was the mother of Roman emperor Constantinus, and according to the legend she was the one who found Jesus’s cross. On volcanic Somló mountain there is a lovely chapel dedicated to the saint, and there is a vineyard under the chapel with the same name. The fruit for the gold winner came from here. And what did IWC judges think of the wine? “This is fresh and stony with complex savoury hints and alternative citrus and pear fruit. Stone fruit and pineapple with notes of orange blossom and honeysuckle. Focussed and precise with good length. A distinctive dry white from volcanic soils.”

Order the gold winner wine from Tornai Webshop

Villányi Franc – became a local

We mentioned that all the gold and silver winners are made of indigenous grapes. Well, there is one exception which might not be an exception: Heumann Trinitás 2016 is only red wine winning silver medal. It is made of 100 % Cabernet Franc – yes, it is an international grape, but as Michael Broadbent wine writer commented, it has found its new home in Villány. To such an extent that a community brand Villányi Franc was created and is monitored strictly. Trinitás is again the name of a vineyard in the village of Vokány. The soil is loess with a high portion of limestone. And what did the judges note about Heumann Trinitás? “Pungent berry fruit with lift and perfume of rose hip and blackberry leaf. Super concentrated, vivid acidity and a graphite, mineral edge.”

More about Heumann Winery

Read the full list of Hungarian IWC winners

Evelyne and Erhard Heumann in the vineyard in Siklós (Villány wine region)

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Tornai restaurant reopens in Somló

Hungarianwines.eu — Wed, 13 May 2020 09:33:55 +0000

Though free shipping within Hungary (in case of purchasing minimum 6 bottles) still applies for Tornai wines, followers can now visit the restaurant of the winery at weekends and enjoy a relaxed lunch on the terrace. The winery is open every day: the wine terrace and wine shop is open from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 6 pm at weekends, while the restaurant is open on Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm, on Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm, awaiting guests with outstanding dishes created by Tornai’s chef. “We lay the tables on the terrace, of course with maximum respect to all rules and regulations. And also Somló is waiting for you, we give you a free tour map to explore the hill, and you can rent a bike with us.” In Hungary the mobility restrictions are eased in the countryside, because the number of new infections have decreased significantly (to date 3341 infected, 430 died altogether in Hungary). Parks and riverside walks are full of “shiny happy people”, though in transport vehicles and public places masks are obligatory to wear. From some countries business travellers can come to Hungary (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and South Korea) and citizens of further countries are expected to be allowed.
If you are still away from this wonderful wine country, you can order the “Winner Juhfark Selection” from Tornai Winery. This Somló cellar can boast an unprecedented success at International Wine Challenge with 4 Trophies. Juhfark is an indigenous variety grown exclusively in Somló wine region, so why not taste the best ones?

More about the Winner Juhfark Selection home delivery and other packages

Our latest article about Tornai Bike Routes & Rent

About Tornai’s IWC Trophies

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Amazing success: Patricius wins the 2nd and Tornai wins the 4th IWC Trophy

Hungarianwines.eu — Mon, 13 May 2019 09:21:34 +0000

Hungary has collected a good number of medals this year at super rigorous International Wine Challenge: 16 commended, 14 bronze, 17 silver and 5 gold medals. On top of that we can celebrate 2 Trophy winners (the best of the gold winners): Patricius Estate from Tokaj for its 6 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú and Tornai Winery from Somló for its Premium Hárslevelű. This is the 4th IWC Trophy of Tornai, therefore we can say that this Somló winery is the most successful Hungarian player of IWC regarding the past 5 years.

Why to trust IWC?

DWWA (Decanter World Wine Award) or IWC (International Wine Challenge)? For wine experts it is a kind of religion, a question of decision. Those, who judge for the first one, do not participate in the second one and vice versa. The undoubted fact is that both British wine competitions are trustworthy and serve as guide for winelovers and professionals. The speciality of IWC is that each medal winning wine is tasted on at least three separate occasions.The 36th IWC results are announced and Hungary is proud: altogether 52 medals and 2 trophies! This is a great result for our country indeed. Romania and Bulgaria for example is not among the trophy winners, and Argentina, a much larger wine country can boast with only 3 trophies. Of course Portugal, Spain, Italy and France are much ahead, but compared to the size of Hungary, this year is astonishingly successful for Hungary.

Indigenious varieties in the limelight

Tornai Wineryfrom Somló is the most successful Hungarian participant of IWC regarding the past 5 years. „We got our fourth International Wine Challenge Trophy award with the 2017 Top Selection Grófi Hárslevelű. Such a result is unprecedented in Hungary and is also rare in the world”– commented the winery. „It is interesting to see how similar our results are, whether it is a domestic competition, the selection of the wines of the Hungarian Science Academy or a big world competition. So far this year, we have won 5 gold and 12 silver medals at national and world competitions, the most successful variety is Juhfark (Aranyhegy 2015, 2016, Grófi 2017, Prémium 2016) with 8 awards. Zenit 2018 was awarded 7 medals alone, while 2018 Grófi Hárslevelű was awarded 5 medals. Zenit was also chosen as the wine of the Hungarian Science Academy in 2019. So indigenous and local varieties of Somló and Hungary perform best, which again proves that in the ever more intense competition all over the world we can really be successful with the unique and limited wines characterized by our special terroir and varieties” – adds Tornai Winery. And the trophy winner according to IWC judges:

Top Selection Grófi Hárslevelű, 2017

„This is rich and honeyed, yet has precision. With a saline edge to the vital pear and peach fruit and a hint of sweetness. Big and balanced, Lovely stuff!”

Patricius: the second trophy in the past 5 years

The Tokaj estate can be extremely proud as well: they won 2 trophies in 2 consecutive years. While last year their 2008 vintage 6 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú was awarded the highest acknowledgement, this year their 5 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú from 2013 has been appreciated with a trophy. Read what the international judges think of this wine!

Patricius Tokaji Aszú 5 puttonyos, 2013

„Beautiful pale gold hue with rich complex nougat, toffee and marmalade bouquet. Unctuous but not cloying, with super length of dried fruit and candied peel.”

Patricius wines are available at Budapest Airport duty free shop (Heinemann store), and in fact their late harvest Katinka blend was the top selling wine of the store, and if you travel to Budapest in May, you will have a chance to taste Katinka in the store with some goose liver paté!

A gold winner newcomer

Hungary won 5 gold medals at IWC: 2 wines are the above mentioned trophy winners, there is another Tornai wine with gold (Top Selection Grófi Juhfark, 2017), a Royal Tokaji Late Harvest (from 2017) and a new winery with an ancient style: Juliet Victor Sweet Szamorodni, 2016. Szamorodni is an exciting style to watch: bunches are harvested with botrytised berries together, the procedure is less labour consuming – thus less expensive –, but the complexity and all the merits of botrytis are there.

Read the evaluation of IWC judges:

Juliet Victor Sweet Szamorodni, 2016

Vibrant, golden and luscious. Lively, tangy citrus, dried mango and creme anglaise. Subtle, honeyed and burnt sugar notes. A lovely spine of acidity through to a long, rich but pure finish.

Congratulation to the winners!

Find all IWC results

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Koch Wines – an „everlasting lure of Hungary’s fine wines”

Hungarianwines.eu — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 08:15:55 +0000

Stephen Barret’s column on The Herald, UK

British newspaper and online site’s columnist, Stephen Barret dedicated a whole column on Hungarian wines, and especially Koch wines on 17 November.
The Herald is the Trinity Mirror newspaper serving Plymouth. The paid-for newspaper has an ABC circulation of 15,755 and its website at www.plymouthherald.co.uk has more than six million page views a month from 1,000,000 unique visitors.
Stephen Barrett is a wine, food and travel writer based in Plymouth, UK. Stephen is also a long-time member of the exclusive Circle of Wine Writers and the Association of Wine Educators. He sits on the panel of judges of the renowned International Wine Challenge. Amongst others Stephen has written regular wine columns for Plymouth Evening Herald (current) and Wine and Spirit and is currently writing (some occasional) wine and food columns for The Menu Guide, Yes Chef!, iPlymouth, Eat Out Devon, InPlymouth, Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Magazine, Oracle, What’s On in Plymouth and Signpost. In the past few years he acted as wine tutor and educator for the supermarket giants Asda, Sainsburys, Somerfield and Safeway, conducting tutored wine tastings throughout the UK.
In his coloumn he breafly mentions Tokaj, since its wines never let fade the memory of Hungary, and then he goes on describing his latest discovery at a British wine merchant, Alliance Wine. He tasted three wines and has a high opinion about all three.

Koch Cserszegi Fűszeres 2016
„This is a lovely fresh style of white that to me resembles a grape from southern Italy, Fiano. Zippy light fruit notes with a searing finish rendering it bone dry and easily quaffable. Very modern indeed and a contender for is style of wine currently popular in the UK market.”

Koch Kékfrankos, 2016
„A defined blue fruit and peppered spice note ekes through the body of this dark red wine. This grape is otherwise known as Blaufrankisch and is popular in neighbouring Austria where it is highly prized.”
Koch Kadarka, 2016
Better know as a component for Bulls Blood of Eger it has been fairly neglected in the past 30 years or so. It creates a blue tinged wine that shows the potential to age as its light acid taste needs food to tame/match or age (up to 5 years) to soften it. Paprika laced Hungarian Goulash beckons to match a treat.”

The whole article from The Herald

Read more about Koch Winery, Hajós–Baja region

https://www.hungarianwines.eu/2017/07/27/the-best-of-the-biggest-danube-wine-region-contest-results/
https://www.hungarianwines.eu/2017/06/16/fish-soup-in-a-giant-dish-next-weekend/
https://www.hungarianwines.eu/2017/04/26/hungarian-gold-medal-from-le-mondial-du-rose-cannes/

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