Patricius Tokaji Szamorodni

Zéta is the 6th letter of the Greek alphabet, and also a grape variety allowed to use for wines under the Tokaj appellation. If you have never heard of it, don’t worry, even wine geeks lack information about this rare grape. Let us teach you and taste Patricius Stilla Aurea Tokaiensis, a sweet Tokaji Szamorodni with 50% Zéta variety.
Grape photo by Bor.hu

What to know about Zéta?

– It is a crossing between Furmint and Bouvier.
– The crossing was carried on by the renowned Hungarian viticultirist, Dr. Ferenc Király and his colleagues in 1951 at Pécs Research centre.
– Zéta is a half-sibling of Zengő, Zenit and Zeusz (he was definitely fond of the letter Z).
– Zéta was the protagonist of a novel by Géza Gárdonyi, a famous Hungarian writer. (A láthatatlan ember – Slave of the Huns / The Invisible Man)
– The official recognition took place many years later, only in 1990.
– At the beginning Zéta was known as Oremus, which is an important vineyard, a ‘cru’ in Tokaj wine region, and also the name of a winery (Tokaj Oremus, and estate owned by vega Sicilia). To avoid confusion, in 1999 the name was changed into Zéta.
– In 1999 there were only 34 hectares, but currently there are 110.7 hectares planted with Zéta in Hungary (source: HNT), exclusively in Tokaj.
– It ripens early and susceptible to botrytis. It has the potential to give full bodied wines rich in aromas and flavours.
– It usually contains less acidity, especially in case of very hot summers, therefore in the majority of the wines, Zéta is blended with other grapes of more acidity.
– You can see Zéta – and many other – vines in the educational vineyard of Patricius Winery, right near the estate building.

Patricius Stilla Aurea Tokaiensis 2021

– It is a sweet Tokaji Szamorodni, a traditional style similar to Tokaji Aszú in many ways, but with less botrytis, less sugar and with a more affordable price. For Szamorodni healthy and botrytised berries are harvested together.
– Stilla Aurea Tokaiensis (Latin) = Golden Drop from Tokaj
– The 2021 vintage of the wine is a blend of 50% Zéta, 28% Muscat Blanc and 22% Furmint.
– It fermented in stainless steel and then aged in 220 L oak barrel for a year.
– Alcohol: 12.5%, residual sugar: 124.2 g/l, acidity: 8.4 g/l
– “The nose brings the aromas of the botrytised Aszú berries with lots of fruity notes, as mango, peach, quince, apricot. In the back the elegance of the barrel ageing also appears. On palate fine complexity, roundness and elegance can characterize the taste. At the end unique minerality completes the wine.”
More about Patricius Winery

Patricius wines are available in many countries, for example in Great Britain at Great Wines & Co and also in the United States at Citadella Imports. If you are in Hungary, you can get hold of the wine at Budapest Airport.

Stay at Andrássy Kúria and Spa in Tokaj wine region…

…where you can taste all the wines of Patricius Winery

Breakfast with Giorgio in Tokaj

6 courses paired with Barta wines at CZIN Bistro

Cinkota is one of the outer districts of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The ancient spelling of the district was Czinkota with Cz at the beginning – hence the name of CZIN Bistro, a relatively new, but really trendy place. It is well worth taking a taxi and visiting this family friendly, lovely place, especially on the 18th of June, when a stunning 6 courses will be paired with the gorgeous Barta wines from Tokaj!

Venue: CZIN Bistro, Szabadföld út 79., Budapest, Hungary
Date and time: 18 June 2025, 19.00
Price: 25 990 HUF / person (around 65 EUR)
Reservation: +36 30 787 4914, info@czin.hu
More about CZIN Bistro
More about Barta Winery

The 6-course menu with wine pairs

 – Pike perch ceviche with marinated vegetables
with Barta Tokaji Furmint Pezsgő 2019 (bottle fermented sparkling wine with 3.5 years ageing on the lees)
– Lamb chops with fondant potatoes and roasted baby vegetables
with Barta Egy Kis Furmint 2023
– Butterfish medallion with saffron risotto and mussels
with Barta KVG Furmint–Hárslevelű 2023
– Filet mignon with truffle mashed potatoes, king trumpet mushroom and asparagus
with Barta Öreg Király Dűlő Furmint 2013
– Rosé duck breast with sweet potato variations and fruit jus
with Barta Öreg Király Dűlő Késői Szüretelésű Furmint 2018
– Toasted scones with confit foie gras and caramelized pears
with Barta Öreg Király Dűlő Szamorodni 2015

Some of our earlier articles about Barta Winery

Muscat & Furmint blend by Barta from legendary Öreg Király

Barta Öreg Király – the Best Tokaji Aszú

Ride & Picnic and other wine experiences at Barta Winery

Kociolek i Wino is a wine shop and bistro with home made Hungarian dishes. The owner, Ewa Hangel is passionate about Hungarian wines and she is constantly looking for new and interesting wines. At this event guests can taste white, rose and red from Csányi Winery (Villány), dry white from Barta Winery (Mád, Tokaj) and a sweet rarity from Préselő Winery (Erdőbénye, Tokaj). “The weather is so capricious these days, once it is hot, the other day it is cold, it can make us crazy. The only way to survive is to grab a glass of wine” – says Ewa and invites winelovers to the tasting.

Date and time: 26 May 2023, 19.00–22.00
Location: Kociolek i Wino, ul. Kajki 68a, Warsaw, Poland
Price: 65 PLN / person and it includes the tasting of 5 wines, snacks and a warm dish
Registration: 00 48 517599595 or 00 48 506144629
E mail: biuro@kociolkowanie.pl

 

Read more about Teleki Wines

Read more about Barta Winery

Read more about Préselő Winery

Szamorodni – the Polish connection

Préselő Winery from Erdőbénye village in Tokaj will be represented by a Tokaji Szamororodni. Szamorodni is an ancient style in Tokaj, in many ways similar to Tokaji Aszú – usually sweet (though it can be dry as well) and it contains botrytised berries. However, there is a significant difference: botrytised and not botrytised berries are picked together, “as it was grown” (not separately like for Tokaji Aszú). The term “as it was grown” is “Samozrodzony” in Polish – and we kept the name.

Read more about Préselő Winery

 

There was an initiative to rename the traditional Tokaj style called Szamorodni. The name remained, what is more, it is trendier than ever. Barta Winery makes a superb example of the style in the village of Mád.

Barta Öreg Király Dűlő Szamorodni 2017

‘Öreg Király’ (‘Old King’) is the most precious vineyard of Barta estate, a steep, spectacular set of parcels. The perfect 2017 vintage saw partially-botrytised bunches of Furmint harvested from 3rd to 28th October, destemmed, and gently pressed after 4 hours of skin contact for this wine. After 24 hours of sedimentation, the juice was fermented in 15% new oak and 85% used oak, and then aged in the same barrels for 12 months, until bottling in January 2019.
Alcohol: 12.11%, acidity 7.07 g/L, residual sugar 133 g/L.
Price: 10 900 HUF from Barta webshop. 
Barta wines are available in several countries from Sweden to Hong Kong

What is Szamorodni?

From the Polish meaning ‘as it was grown’, or as it was shriveled on the vine. A traditional Tokaji wine made from bunches containing both healthy and botrytised grapes. It can be both sweet or dry.

Duck breast with Szamorodni

• If you are able to spare a little of the wine for the duck, it will make a huge difference. Cut the skinny surface of the duck breast a couple of times. Rub it with salt and pepper it and pour the wine onto it.
• You can add one orange cut into small cubes. Dried apricot will also do it. Leave it to rest for an hour. Dry it with a paper towel.
• Fry it on the skinny surface for 3-5 minutes without any oil, the skin will release enough fat. Turn it upside down, fry the other side as well.
• Put the fried duck breast into a baking tray, cover it with kitchen foil and bake it at very low temperature for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the orange or apricot cubes into the frying pan with the duck fat.
• Cut the duck breast into nice, thin slices and serve it with the fruity mixture on top.
• Obviously, pair it with the well chilled Barta Tokaji Szamorodni.

The results of the latest (5th) edition of Hong Kong based Women’s Wine & Spirit Awards have just been announced: 5 Hungarian gold medals, 3 dry wines by Jammertal (Villány) and 2 wines by Holdvölgy (Tokaj). One of them, Eloquence is the same wine, which has won Grand Gold at Berliner Wine Trophy earlier this year. What is so special about this (now double) great result? Well, check the price of the wine… (Or just go on reading.)

Szamorodni – and ancient style and its due revival

“I believe Women’s Wine & Spirit Awards results are a guarantee to the customer of a quality product.” – comments Sara Rossi, head sommelier and wine buyer at Trinity London. Well, we hope so, thus, as a consequence we might hope the presence of gold winner Holdvölgy Eloquence on the wine list of Trinity, since the wine list of this prestigious Michelin star restaurant has a rather modest range of Tokaj wines.

‘Szamorodni’ is an ancient vinification style in Tokaj, something to watch for those who wants great value. Though this wine category is under Tokaji Aszú, this recent gold proves again that our ancestors were right when they created a sweet wine with some botrytised berries – and the contemporary winemakers are clever enough to continue with the tradition. Holdvölgy Eloquence 2011 is a Furmint and Hárslevelű blend with 115.6 g residual sugar. And in retail it costs only around 13–15 euros!

Tokaji Aszú – like always…

Holdvölgy also won gold medal for Holdvögy Culture 2008, a gorgeous Tokaji Aszú made of Furmint, Hárslevelű and Zéta with 176.9 g/l residual sugar. Only 10 500 little bottles were made, and the price is obviously higher: the informative retail price is 82 euros.

More about Holdvölgy

At the largest ever Decanter WWA experts judged 18.094 wines from 56 countries. Hungary received 92 accolades: 1 Best in Show, 4 Platinum, 15 gold, 40 silver and 32 bronze. Best in Show: St Andrea Egri Bikavér Grand Superior. Highest score from Hungary: Patricius Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos, Gold for an aromatic wine (!): Tornai Top Selection Tramini. Red Power – 3 gold winner red wines: Sauska Cuvée 7 Siklós, Vesztergombi Vintage, Heumann Trinitás. Old style revival: Gizella Szamorodni is also gold winner. Congratulations!!!

Vivien Ujvári in Mád, Tokaj wine region is the chief winemaker of Barta Cellar and makes nothing but outstanding wines. No wonder her talent is recognized by the managers of Lady of the Grapes, a wine bar and restaurant offering organic wines and food in Covent Garden, London.

 

“To ensure each and every customer has a delightful epicurean experience while supporting female winemakers. We see more and more women taking the lead and being in charge of vineyards, so let’s shine a light on them within this industry traditionally male-dominated. Organic, biodynamic, minimal intervention viticulture ensures you taste only the grapes and terroir. Our wines contain no additives, low sulphites and indigenous yeasts only!“

​About 25 wines are available by glass and carafe (which of 5 fine wines are served with Coravin) and around 200 wines by bottle. The selection is amazing: you can find well known names on the list like Bordeaux biodynamic Chateau Pontet Canet with Melanie Tesseron, but there are wines from several lesser known countries like Slovakia, Switzerland or the Checz Republic. Hungary is represented by two wines, an orange wine made by Réka Koncz and a Tokaj Szamorodni from Barta Cellar.

More about Lady of the Grapes

Maintaining the viewers’ attention through an online tasting is a challenge. Not if the speaker is the super entertaining Oz Clarke. The British wine guy started his career as an actor, he had played in several theatre plays and movies by the time he got close to wine. Being talented in wine tasting as well, he combined his wine knowledge with his talent for entertaining – and it worked. According to a survey carried on in 2008, Oz Clarke was the most recognised wine critic in the UK. The IWC Wine Personality of the Year (2009) and award winner writer released his first wine app a decade ago.

Barta Cellar in Tokaj is a comet. We have reported about their acknowledgments countless times, the last one was a Decanter Platinum award, and for sure it is not the last one this year. Tamlyn Currin, wine writer on JancisRobinson.com described Barta Öreg Király Furmint as OMG!
This Friday Oz Clarke will taste 3 different wines made of Furmint:
– Egy kis Furmint 2019 (which is listed in Decanter October issue as one of the best weekday wines),
– Öreg Király Dűlő Furmint 2015 (the one Tamlyn Currin was fascinated by) and
– Öreg Király Szamorodni 2013. Oz will taste together with Rebecca Palmer wine buyer, co-manager of Corney&Barrow, while the chief winemaker of Barta estate, Vivien Ujvári will give all the information about the terroir, the breathtaking terraces of Mád village.

The wines are available in the UK and certainly in Hungary.
The online masterclass starts at 19.30 on 30th October.

Order the wines and link to the masterclass within Hungary

Order the wines and the link to the masterclass within the United Kingdom

As Easter is coming closer, it is time to prepare the seasonal cakes, sweets. At Easter we eat sweets mostly with walnutand poppyseed, and easter wreath is an emblematic shape, often decorated by painted boiled eggs. When we were browsing recipes, we came accross Tara’s website, and we were impressed by the accuracy of the recipe (and the spelling of the Hungarian words) in spite of the fact that she is not Hungarian at all, neither are her forefathers. Thank you, Tara! Follow her proven instructions and enjoy this delicacy with walnut! As for the wines, we recommend a Sweet Tokaji Szamorodni, the complex notes of dried fruits, walnut and botrytis pair well with the walnut filling, and its moderate residual sugar (around 100 g/l) is equal with the sweetness of the sweetbread. Béres Édes (‘Sweet’) Szamorodni 2015 is a lovely partner for the Easter dessert: “Bright lemon yellow. Subtle nose with stone fruits, nutmeg, cinnamon and beeswax. An invigorating palate showing notes of citrus. The sweetness is backed up by firm acidity. The lingering finish offers grapefruits and almond paste.“

More about Béres Sweet Szamorodni

More about Tokaj wine styles

Tara’s Easter wreath recipe with instructions

 

Tokaji Aszú is a time consuming style, botrytised berries are picked one by one, plus botrytis does not come according to the timetable. Szamorodni is another traditional Tokaj style with a more affordable price, with fabulous examples. VinCE wine magazine has recently held its panel tasting of Szamorodni wines, featured in their November issue, let us share the top results of the tasting.

More approchable, more attractive

„The most beautiful wines were the ones with vibrant acidity besides the lovely botrytis” – concluded László Romsics, consulting editor of the magazine. „Szamorodni is a truly valuable style with history, personality and potential” – said Kristian Kielmayer wine expert. „The change of the regulation in 2017 – it shortens obligatory barrel ageing – helps the style adjust to modern trends and the wines are released earlier. The wines are fresher, more approachable yet they carry the fingerprint of the unique terroir” – comments László Szilágyi, owner of Gizella Cellar, the producer of one of the 5 star szamorodnis. 27 szamorodni wines were evaluated, 5 of them received the highest acknowledgement, 5 stars:Demeter Zoltán Anett 2017, Disznókő 1413 Édes Szamorodni 2017, Gizella Édes Szamorodni 2017, Holdvölgy Intuition Zéta Szamorodni 2008, Péter Édes Szamorodni 2017.

Tállya Radicals – the best of the 4 star wines

To have big names at the top is no surprise, however, the best of the 4 star wines is produced by a young winery called TR, which stands for Tállya Radicals. The team of TR creates well balanced, elegant wines with affordable prices. „Light golden colour. Elegant, intense, complex nose with vanilla, apricot, fresh spiciness and some oaky notes. Vibrant, rich palate with good balance, refined acidity. A well elaborated, layered wine with plenty of fruits, long and lovely finish” – as we can read about TR Édes Szamorodni 2014 in the panel tasting section of the magazine.

A food friendly sweet wine

Szamorodni is lighter and fresher than a Tokaji Aszú, therefore it is easier to pair it with food. Sándor Kis, chef of MieleHungary fried some duck liver in a pan and served it with dry roasted fig, honeyed pecan, vanilla and walnut flavoured mayonnaise. The complex, sweetish plate emphasizes the structure and the frutiness of the wine.

More about TR Winery