Furmint February: tasting notes

[ 0 ] April 26, 2011 | Kristian Kielmayer

Furmint February Tasting at the at the Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. Photo courtesy of Vinoport.hu.

A few months ago I had the privilege of attending one of the largest tastings for Furmint wines in Hungary, organized by Vinoport at the Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

Furmint is one the most widely grown varietals in Hungary particularly within the Tokaj-Hegyalja region. It’s also found in Austria where it is also known as Mosler. Smaller plantings are found in Slovenia where it is known as šipon. It can be produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry to sweet wines afflicted by noble rot.

One of my favorite winemakers in Hungary- the Fekete winery from the Somló region was present at the festival. Uncle Béla, the owner, as everybody calls him makes some pretty unique wines. He re-introduced the Juhfark variety and his Hárslevelü is simply delicious, especially in great vintages, a synergy with Mother Nature, terroir of the big Somló. The wines in Somló can be compared in many ways to Furmint in Tokaji but here the style is a bit more defined, universally high in acidity, slightly lower alcohol and body, perhaps with a more marked minerality as well.

Photo courtesy of Vinoport.hu.

It was also great to see many smaller and lesser known producers from the Tokaj region. Many of them I never heard of as they bottle only in small quantities including the family-owned Gizella winery which showcased their Szil Valley Furmint 2009 Tarcal. This wine is harvested from old bush vines with a medium high density (6000 vines/ha). They only produce 600 bottles. It had ripe fruit on the nose with a dry start on the palate yet the alcohol was high (14% ABV) but also balanced with some coconut and tropical fruit combination showing up in the wine with a fairly long finish.

There was also the Zöld birtok (green estate) winery and as the name suggests it’s organic which means only sulphur and copper is used in small quantities during the winemaking process. András the winemaker explained how producing organic wines can be difficult as the administrative process consumes a lot of time and money.

Another great example was Pók Tamás from Eger, who is a very knowledgeable winemaker but at the same very humble and open. His Pajados 2009 was a blend of Hárslevelü and Furmint. Although, Tamás agreed a bit more acidity would have been better to supplement the wine’s texture and body, as the Hárslevelü somewhat tempered the Furmint. Yet the wine is very young having been bottled only few weeks ago. I think a bit of aging will certainly bring it to its full potential.

There were a couple of guest producers that showed their wines as well. The Wenzel winery from Rust, Austria, had a fantastic range of Furmint wines. This estate, which is one of the oldest in town, is run by Robert and Christa Wenzel and their son Michael. I first met Robert Wenzel in Budapest during a Ruster Circle tasting where I had the honor to help out as an interpreter and taste his famous Satz. This night his son demonstrated the Furmint Vogelsang. They get several of the cuttings from Istvan Szepsy, a Hungarian winemaker from Tokaj who is regarded for his ground-breaking work in producing complex sweet wines and some of the most intense dry wines in the world.

From Slovenia, there was Mojca Gorjak. She represented very enthusiastically the Slovenian wines on that evening, being full of energy explaining not only the wines but also the wine tourism side of the country. Worth a visit! The Hlebec Milan 2007 fermented in wooden barrels with low temperature; it showed some pine raisin, wild honey, slightly oil attack on the palate, dry and with a rather medium acidity, round yet simple finish.

I would also like to give an honorable mention to the Bott Határi Furmint which showed plenty of complex notes with a great finesse and balance between acidity and fruit.

Overall, this was a fantastic tasting. I do hope this event will continue next year or perhaps extend itself to a roadshow across Hungary. There is so much to explore with Furmint which is just beginning to emerge in the global wine market. So, stay tuned!

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Category: Wine

About Kristian Kielmayer: With a bachelor degree in hotel tourism and economics, Kristian became chairman of the universities wine society and was leading it for three years. During that time he founded the Wine Tasting Faculty and published a wine magazine. His first teacher in wine was Dr. Robert Cey-Bert; friend and mentor. Kristian has also spent time working in London in the wine trade and completed the Wine and Spirit Education Trust diploma, all units at the first attempt. Kristian travels in the world not only for wine but also for food and to explore history and culture. He is a member of the Hungarian Bocuse d’Or Academy and chairman of the Wine Gastronomy. Besides judging in several European wine competitions such as London, Jerez, he writes extensively for various other websites. Kristian is currently studying in his second year to become a Master of Wine, the highest and most difficult qualification in the wine industry. His own blog can be reached under www.kristiankielmayer.com. View author profile.