Two Hungarian wines in Wojciech Bonkowski MW’s top 12 of 2023
Sauska Furmint Brut and Barta Öreg Király Furmint
The first Polish Master of Wine has long been passionate about Tokaj, he even completed his MW thesis about Tokaj. Wojciech has posted his top 12 wines of the year 2023 on X (formerly Twitter), and we are more than happy to see that there are two Hungarian wines on this prestigious list, a bottle fermented sparkling and a single vineyard still wine – both made of 100% Furmint grape variety. Let us introduce the two wines.
Sauska Furmint Brut 2016
Grapes 100% harvested from Tokaj vineyards owned by the winery, mainly from Medve-, Birsalmás and Úrágya vineyards.
Ageing: more than 48 months, dosage, 7 g/L.
“Generous nose, aromas of honey and yeast, brown butter, peach pie, baked lemon and ripe quince. Mature and elegant wine with rich foam, lively bubbles, salty, volcanic minerals-driven flinty minerality. Elegant, long finish.”
Barta Öreg Király Furmint 2022
Wojciech Bonkowski MW included the 2019 vintage of this wine in his top 12, however, currently vintage 2022 is on sale. We should not worry, this exceptional vineyard in the hands of the great winemaker of Barta Winery gives astonishing wine in every vintage.
“In the hot and dry 2022 vintage, dry wine harvest began in the Öreg Király in early September. Gentle pressing and gravity settling was followed by low-temperature fermentation and 5 months of ageing partly in French and partly in Hungarian oak for 5 months. A Furmint with surprisingly good acidity and excellent structure for the vintage.”