Hungary has a surprisingly long wine history, with a winemaking pedigree going back to the 1600’s and is home to a distinctive array of indigenous grapes coupled with more familiar international varieties.
If pressed, some of you may mumble “Tokaji” if asked to name a Hungarian wine, many of you may not even be aware that this legendary wine actually comes from Hungary. Don’t worry, you are not alone, this is a wine which has taken on almost mythical status to the point that where it is from almost seems an irrelevance.
Readers of a certain age may also mention Egri Bikavér, well ok, they’d probably say “Bull’s Blood”’ as this was how this rugged red blend was better known in the 1980s (before I was of drinking age I might add!), and this wine can still be sought out today.
A blog on Hungarian wine simply must feature front and centre Tokaji. Such was the status of this wine that every year Emperor Franz Josef sent Queen Victoria, as a gift on her birthday, bottles of Tokaji Aszú (one for every month she had lived). It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out that’s a hell of a lot of bottles over her 81 years!!
Tokaji
It’s a wine not a grape is the first thing to remember. Six varieties are officially allowed, but usually it’s a blend of predominantly Furmint and Hárslevelű with a smidgen of Sárgamuskotály (local name for Muscat) thrown in for good measure.
Another thing of note is that Tokaji can be dry although it is more commonly found in its sweet Aszú form or even as a late-harvest version (sweet but not as sweet as Aszú). If it’s dry it will be labelled as such and mention the grape variety (usually Furmint).
I‘m not going to go into too much detail as to how the sweet Aszú wines are made as its complicated, but it does involve Botrytis (noble rot) – a fungus which affects the grapes causes dehydration and therefore concentration of sugars. These ‘rotten’ (in a good way trust me!) grapes are then crushed into a paste and added to a base dry wine to re-ferment very slowly, with the amount of paste added determining the sweetness of the final wine.
A term you may still see on bottles of Tokaji is “Puttonyos” this means butt (or bucket), which denotes the number of these buckets (of the crushed grape paste) that were added to the wine. For example 5 Puttonyos would be far sweeter than 3 Puttonyos. Note: These days producers tend to denote sweetness simply by grams of residual sugar, with 5 Puttonyos the equivalent to 120g/l.
Top tip: If you see the term ‘Szamorodni’ on the label – this literally means “as it comes” and these wines include some botrytised grapes, so can be dry (szára) or sweet (édes) depending on the amount of botrytised grapes used. Note: Lidl do a version which is sweet.
I don’t want to get bogged down in this though as I’m well aware it can be confusing. I’d like also to also mention a few grapes that are worth seeking out and given around 70% of all wine production is white, I’ve concentrated on these:
Furmint (already mentioned above) – is a highly versatile grape, thin skinned and late ripening, it’s a perfect grape for Botrytis, but it also makes very decent dry and sparkling wines. Talking particularly about the dry versions – these wines tend to be characterised by a steely natural acidity, fresh orchard and citrus fruit notes (think pear and lemons and limes) and quite smoky. It takes well to oak, so you can get richer, rounder styles with a lick of vanilla and honey too.
Juhfark – a rare grape from the Somló region which is beginning to undergo a bit of a resurgence. Meaning ‘sheep’s tail’ the grape took its name from the fact the long thin bunches resembled that of a sheep’s tail! I tasted a gorgeous example of this in Budapest a while back – rich, honeyed, with citrus and green apple notes and a nutty finish.
Hárslevelű – another grape of the Tokaji blend. Quite aromatic, rich and fruity with floral notes, think honeysuckle and beeswax complemented by a more tropical fruit (pineapple) profile.
If reds are more your thing then look for:
Kékfrankos (aka Blaufränkisch in Austria) – produces some of Hungary’s finest reds, it thrives in the regions of Szekszárd and Villány. Historically a major component of the aforementioned Bull’s Blood, the grape contributes lots of spicy red and blue fruits on the nose and palate with fresh acidity and grippy tannins that become more supple with age.
International varieties are also prominent, in my opinion Hungary looks a good bet for Cabernet Franc, a style totally different from what you can expect from the Loire Valley which are generally lighter and more herbaceous. In Hungary, in Villány in particular, with its warmer climate, the grape seems more rich and powerful, higher alcohols and concentrated ripe fruit (raspberry and plum) with balanced acidity and ripe tannins.
There are loads of other grapes I could mention but this was designed to serve more as an introduction to the wines of Hungary and hopefully it will encourage a bit of experimentation outside of the confines of the sweet wines of Tokaji (or as my dad likes to call them “nectar from the gods”).
There are some great dry wines being made in the country that are definitely worth a try. For anyone interested I devoted a blog to a brilliant tasting I attended in Budapest a couple of years ago which can be found here.
Next up, I is for Icewine