105 wines from 10 countries tasted by Tamlyn Currin

As we reported earlier, Tamlyn Currin, the brilliant wine expert at JancisRobinson.com, took part in a cross-border tasting event of Furmint, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) and Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) wines, held in the Slovenian village of Kog. Today, let us introduce two of the highest scored Hungarian Kékfrankos wines made by Heimann and Heumann.

The event was organized by the Kog 25 Pannonia association, which consists of local winemakers and an Irish couple who are wine merchants and cultivate a small area of land in Slovenia. The blind tasting included a workshop dedicated to each variety.

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Thanks for not overoaking!

The finest examples of this variety are still produced in Austria, but Tamlyn Currin pointed out that Hungarian Kékfrankos wines are also shining brightly thanks to the fact that winemakers no longer insist on heavy oak ageing. Altogether 35 Kékfrankos (or Blaufränkisch, Lemberger, Frankovka etc.) were tasted. The highest score was 18 points, achieved by an Austrian and a Slovenian wine. Seven wines received 17.5 points: one Croatian, five Austrian, and half-Hungarian (and half Austrian), Franz Weninger’s 2021 Balf Kéfrankos. Among the 8 wines with 17 points, there are more Hungarian wines, one Vida, one Heumann, one Heimann & Fiai wine, and Frigyes Bott (Slovakia), also considered Hungarian, receiving this score.

 

Heimann or Heumann?
If you think that these surnames sound German, you are right. Heimann family is of Swabian origin living in Szekszárd, while Erhard Heumann is a German gentleman living in Villány with his Swiss wife.

Heimann & Fiai Szívem Kékfrankos 2020, Szekszárd (17/20 pts)

Tamlyn Currin’s wine review:
Cherry sherbet and raspberries. Very fine tannins. Unusual. Lots of white pepper. Zigzag energy, crackling with energy. Super-grippy tannins but they’re not drying. Fine and high-wired, long and very fragrant.
Drink: 2024 – 2030
More about Heimann & Fiai wines

Heumann Reserve Kékfrankos 2020, Villány (17/20 pts)

Tamlyn Currin’s wine review:
Bitter chocolate and a tangle of wild herbs. Fennel and caraway, black fruit. Tannins underscoring the fruit, and then strikethrough. Just like that. The fruit steps back in shock and then, resilient, comes back forward trailing bitter spices. Complex and stubborn. Very savoury. Peppery from mid palate to the end. Sculpted.
Drink: 2025 – 2032
More about Heumann wines

Tamlyn Currin on JancisRobinson.com

As we reported earlier, Tamlyn Currin, the brilliant wine expert at JancisRobinson.com, took part in a cross-border tasting event of Furmint, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) and Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) wines, held in the Slovenian village of Kog. The participants tasted 105 wines from 10 countries. Earlier we introduced one of the best Hungarian Furmint wines, and today let us introduce Csetvei Kő-Papír-Olló “Kő” Olaszrizling 2019 from Somló.
The event was organized by the Kog 25 Pannonia association, which consists of local winemakers and an Irish couple who are wine merchants and cultivate a small area of land in Slovenia. The blind tasting included a workshop dedicated to each variety.

Italian Riesling from Italy – and other countries

The Hungarian Olaszrizling word literally means Italian Riesling, and the same term is used in Italy, even though the grape originates in the Carpathian Basin (though there is research claiming Italian origin). The German Welschriesling means “other Riesling”, while the Croatian-Slovenian name Grasevina does not have any special literal meaning.
GROW is an annual Grasevina-Olaszrizling-Welschriesling competition – hence the abbreviation as the name of the contest –, and GROW is also an official, recently accepted name for the grape variety.

A white grape showing well in barrel

As for Olaszrizling, Tamlyn Currin mentions that this variety is still underrated, even though it can produce wonders when yield is properly restricted. In his opinion, the finest Olaszrizling wines are richly fruity and spicy, and their complexity is enhanced by spontaneous fermentation, lees ageing, skin contact, and barrel ageing.
The highest score here was 18, achieved by an Italian and a Slovenian wine, while 6 wines received 17.5 points, 4 Austrian and 2 Slovenian. Among the 17-point wines, we finally see a Hungarian Olaszrizling, the 2023 Olaszrizling from Somlói Vándor. Among the seven 16.5-point wines, there is also a Hungarian wine, also from Somló, namely Krisztina Csetvei’s 2019 Olaszrizling from Kő-Papír-Olló Kő.

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Csetvei Kő-Papír-Olló “Kő” Olaszrizling 2019, Somló

Tamlyn Currin’s wine review:
“Waxy and paraffin-smoky. Terse. Juddering with the slam of gravel and powerful. Stinky and volcanic in nature. Bitter and chiselled into grooves. Dramatic and almost shocking. I was not remotely surprised when this ferocious wine turned out to be from Somló!”

Tamlyn Currin, the brilliant wine expert at JancisRobinson.com, took part in a cross-border tasting event of Furmint, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) and Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) wines, held in the Slovenian village of Kog. Today, let us introduce one of the highest scored Furmint wines made by Zsirai Winery (out of 35 Furmint wines).

 

The event was organized by the Kog 25 Pannonia association, which consists of local winemakers and an Irish couple who are wine merchants and cultivate a small area of land in Slovenia. The blind tasting included a workshop dedicated to each variety.

Read the whole article (subscription is needed, but it is worth it)

How to dress (or undress) Furmint

According to Tamlyn Currin, Furmint truly comes into its own when fermented spontaneously and with only a little sulphur added. Late harvesting, ageing in large barrels, and skin contact also suit it well, just as unfiltered Furmints can also be beautiful. She emphasized the importance of bottle ageing for Furmints – the grapes for her two favourites were harvested in 2019.
The expert, who scored wines on a scale of 20, gave a maximum score of 17.50 to 10 wines, including two Hungarian single vineyard wines: Kikelet Lónyai Furmint 2021 and Zsirai Nyulászó Furmint 2021. The other 17.50 wines are from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and there is one from the Slovakian part of Tokaj.

Zsirai Nyulászó Furmint 2021

Described by Tamlyn Currin:
“Floral on the nose. Definitely some sweetness – like a very sweet clementine. Deliciously sweet! Clementines. Passion fruit! Silk and tweed. Playful. Wonderful ripe citrus; mouth-watering and really, really long. Oranges on a finish that flares out, flushed with juice and fragrance.”
(The sweetness is explained by the 19 g/L residual sugar.)

Tamlyn Currin wine writer – JancisRobinson.com – knows a lot about our Furmint grape, she visited Hungary several times and certainly she participated in the latest edition of Furmint February grand tasting in London. Her recent article reveals her interesting insights about Furmint styles partially determined by their exposure. The article contains reviews of 61 wines Furmint from Hungary.
Furmint February is an annual event in London organized by Zsuzsa Toronyi (Wines of Hungary UK). 

The anthem of Furmint

“Furmint wines also age beautifully, whether dry or sweet, and the dry wines can be balanced and delicious at a range of alcohol levels, from 11% to 14.5%. Like Chenin, Furmint responds to winemaking like tango dancers respond to their partners. You can put it in steel, clay, old oakor new oak; you can allow malo, partial malo or block malo; you can age it on lees (with or without stirring) or rack it off as clean as possible; you can make bottle-fermented or tank-method sparkling wines; you can play with skin contact, make an orange wine, or blend it with other varieties. It’s as malleable as marzipan, but no matter what the winemaking is, it never loses its identity as Furmint or the identity of the ground from which it came. Add to that, of course, the fact that it is a brilliant wine for food – there’s a style for pretty much any dish you want to pair it with. Test me!” – it could righteously be the anthem of Furmint, so true, so sensational, it gives goosebumps. Thanks again, Tamlyn.
Also the typicity of Furmint wines is interesting according to the four quarters, I don’t think I have ever read anything similar:
– North: “Thunder” with “its towering, uncompromising minerality”. She also compares it to “Mordor”, I love it!
– South: “Holy Water”, as Tamlyn reveals: “This is the Furmint that I fell in love with; my gateway Furmint.”
– West: “Elysium” with “the wet-soil smell of winter on its breath, misty-morning mushrooms tucked under lazy, long-sprawled-out acidity”.
– East: “Little Fluffy Clouds” – “…thirst quenching. It’s crisp. It’s sharp.”

Read the whole article by on JancisRobinson.com (you need a subscription but it is worth it!)

3 top score dry Furmint wines from the article

(I admit it is not wine writing to copy Tamlyn’s wine reviews, but I just have to, they are so good!)

Wine of the Weekend: Csetvei Kő-Papír-Olló Olaszrizling 2017

‘Olaszrizling’ is the most widely planted white grape of Hungary. The name literally means Italian ‘Italian Riesling’, therefore people may assume that it has some genetic relation to Rhine Riesling, and since Olaszrizling is much less aromatic and complex than Rhine Riesling, it is often considered to be a “poor cousin”. As Tamlyn Currin, wine writer of JancisRobinson.com pointed out tasting Krisztina Csetvei’s wine from Somló, it is far from being a pitiful relative.

Some serious and some less serious facts about Olaszrizling

– Olaszrizling was and is mistaken for Rhine Riesling, though it is a completely different grape.
– Its synonyms include the most common Welschriesling (Austria, Germany), Graševina in Croatia, Laški Rizling in Slovenia.
– It is quite likely to originate from the Danube basin, though there are numerous other hypotheses.
– A recent research might prove that yes, Olaszrizling originates in Italy.
– GROW is a new initiative – a wine contest of the variety. The name comes from the most common synonyms: GRaševina, Olaszrizling and Welschriesling.
– In Hungary there was a smaller scale movement to rename the variety to avoid confusion. The attempt failed, Mandola, Oriz or Nemes did not win.

 

Scissors-paper-stone from volcanic Somló

In the name of Csetvei Kő-Papír-Olló Olaszrizling 2017 ‘Kő-Papír-Olló’ stands for scissors-paper-stone game. While ‘Scissors’ and ‘Paper’ come from Mór wine region, ‘Rock’ comes from the volcanic Somló vineyard of the estate. Gently pressed, 50% tank fermentation and maturation and 50% wooden-barrel fermentation and maturation for three months. Tamlyn Currin was impressed by the expression of the variety and gave the wine 17 points!

The annual Franc & Franc conference and tasting event is coming closer, this year it will take place on 20–21 November. Villány producers await experts and winelovers to taste the 100 % Cabernet Franc wines. They are indeed worth tasting. If you need more argument, read Tamlyn Currin’s latest article on JancisRobinson.com!

Again a good piece of news to greet the weekend: Tamlyn Currin (in the photo), who has previously described several Furmint wines from Hungary, now visits Tokaj wine region and she is imressed by the diverse soils of the volcanic mountains. “Those volcanic soils – rhyolite, rhyodacite, dacite, andesite, basalt, zeolite, pyroclastic tuffa – their names as foreign-sounding as the villages surrounding them, are increasingly being harnessed to make dry wines… stunning dry wines. Harnessed is the wrong word. You can’t ‘harness’ soils. But there is a new wave of winemakers learning new and old things about these ancient soils. Throw in the impact of climate change, and the terroir of Tokaj now must be re-learned for complex dry wines that will age and develop, and, I believe, earn an established place alongside of the finest whites in the world.” And Tamlyn goes on, she gives several examples of those complex, world class white wines from Barta Cellar, Chateau Mate, Királyudvar, Tokaj Nobilis, Patricius Winery, Sanzon and Zsirai. The wine descriptions are artistic and detailed again, it is pleasure to read them. Zsirai Betsek Furmint 2018 for example “Almost slams into your chest, shuddering with feeling, then there is gentleness. Long and powerful. Like a cliff face, like ocean foam clinging to sand.” Try reading the text and then shut your eyes – you might taste the flavours of the wines.
And: Tamlyn Currin has accepted our proposal to be a jury member of our 3rd Hungarian WebWineWriting competition!
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More about the 3rd Hungarian WebWineWrting contest

If it comes to Tokaj and Furmint, Barta Cellar is a must mention. His single vineyard Furmint wine from Öreg Király (‘Old King’) vineyard has received numerous national and international acknowledgements, just lately it has been selected Wine of the Month by VinCE Magazin, and we have reported how Tamlyn Currin (jancisrobinson.com) was fascinated by the wine in London. ‘Egy Kis Furmint’ (A Little Furmint) is the little sister of the great wine. “Egy kis is the ‘prefix’ for our second brand under which we offer wines that are aimed at the ‘beginner wine drinkers’ who are looking for high-quality, yet easy-to-love, fruity and fresh entry-level wines that can open the door to wine connoisseurship.” It is a new release, the wine was bottled for the first time this year. Harvest of grapes with good acidity and citrusy notes for this wine started on 12th September 2019. 80 per cent of the juice was fermented in a steel tank, the rest in 2nd-fill and 3rd-fill oak barrels, all at controlled temperatures. The wine was then aged for 3 months on fine lees before bottling. Tomi Pethő (Vinobarclub), creator of the meal commented: “Tapas are light bites that have acidity and freshness, so they naturally go well with the light, vibrant, herbal and playful character of Egy Kis Furmint.”

More about the wine

See full recipe

 

As we reported less than a year ago, Tamlyn Currin wine writer of JancisRobinson.com could not find the word for Barta Öreg Király Furmint, so she began her wine description with the rather unusual start as indicated in the title. She is not the only one using superlatives when it comes to Barta wines from Mád, Tokaj wine region.

A few days ago Robert Smyth, wine writer of Budapest Business Journal dedicated an article to Tokaji Aszú wines – in connection with the International Aszú Day on 10 December – and praising Aszú wines he went on writing: „I was fortunate enough to recently taste three six puttonyos offerings from the same producer (Barta from the Tokaj town of Mád) and the same vineyard (the remarkable looking Öreg Király dűlő, comprising volcanic rhyolite tufa with some zeolite and red clay) but from different vintages, and it is a joy to the senses how these magical wines slowly mature and change character with every passing year.” Then, again recently VinCE Magazin (an important print magazine in Hungary) has created an article with renowned Hungarian winewriters naming their best wine of the year. László Romsics dipWSET wine expert, consultant editor of the magazine, CEO of Csányi Winery picked a new release blend from Barta. KVG Furmint–Hárslevelű 2018 is his favourite this year because „I like complex wines with pure flavour profile and wines with a message for me. Vivacious, vibrant, elegant wines, which grab my attention and keep it for a long time.” (See the relevant piece of page below.)

 

Artisan wine bar – a new place to go and to be

MyWine Bar is a relatively new place, a shop which keeps a carefully selected portfolio of wines – including almost the whole range of Barta wines. MyWine Bar is a wholesale store and webshop, but in the centre of Budapest (5th district, Arany János street 16) all the wines of the portfolio are to be found and in most cases to be tasted by the glass as well. Good craft beer selection, plus ham and cheese platters are also available to make the tasting experience complete. The wine bar is open all day, more information (in Hungarian) here.