Hungary

Made from the Juhfark grape on the Somlo hill near Lake Balaton in Hungary.  Silvery green/gold in color.  The nose has pears, smoke (it is grown in volcanic soil), slight soapy note and an herbal note.  On the palate, this is semi-sweet with apples and honey notes.  It  has a tart green apple streak on the finish.  This improved with air and definitely needs some food to counter the acidic bite.  Drink over the next five years.  It worked well with soft cheeses and will work with most lighter foods.  

My first time trying the Juhfark (pronounced YOU-fahrk) grape.  The term refers to the elongated shape of the grape bunches.

Honestly, expectations were very low for this.  From a 250ml bottle.  In the bottle, it looked like balsamic vinegar but once poured it was more the color of iced tea.  Clear and bright.  If served blind, the guess would be Vin Santo.  The nose is nutty with caramel but also a slight honey and pear.  Medium to full bodied but viscous.  On the palate, this is just barely sweet.  More like semi-sweet.  Caramel and nutty flavors with some burnt cashew notes.  Some acidity.  Moderate finish.  Certainly a respectable showing at age 33 from a 250ml bottle!  

This made from Furmint grapes in Hungary.  Light gold in color with slight green hues, clear and bright.  The nose is nice.  Clean, no diesel notes notes.  Scents of lemons, limes and pears with good minerality.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has nice pear fruit with underlying minerals.  Fresh and lively acidity.  Long finish.  It would be interesting to do a vertical to see how these age, but tasting this young was a pleasure for the clean and lively taste.  Drink alone or with food.  Salads or lighter seafood would work well.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

Royal Tokaji Wine Co.

This is a very interesting wine made from 56% Hárslevelű and 44% Furmint organic grapes.  The vineyard, Lishegy dates back to at least 1686.  The wine was aged for 12 months in 500L Hungarian oak barrels.  2007 is a recent release.  It is a dry wine with 12.1% abv.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has apricots and minerals and what might best be described as a "woody" scent.  Not quite oak.  There is also a very slight diesel note.  On the palate, this has tart quince with some limes.  A viscous texture.  Dry.  Long finish.  A very interesting wine that improved great with some

This sec or dry wine is made from 85% Furmint, 15% Hárslevelu grapes in Hungary.  The producer is organic and farms biodynamically.  Medium golden in color, shimmering bright and clear.  The nose is nice with quince, limes, slight apricot and a hint of animal sweat.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, quince, slight lime, slight apricot with an underlying slight char.  Tart acidity but a barely perceptible level of sweetness that balances it nicely.  Good finish.  This drinks well on its own but would work better with food.  Shellfish would work well.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

This is made from the Furmint grape from a single vineyard (Barakony).  Várhegy is the name of an extinct volcano that dominates the geography of the area (the name means castle hill).  The wine checks in at 11.6%ABV with Residual Sugar at 2.9 g/l (just barely perceptible).  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has pronounced diesel notes along with some quince.  On the palate, this is light to medium bodied.  Tart quince paste notes with nice minerality.  Slight smokiness.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks well on its own but will work better with food.  Lighter poult

This is made from the Furmint grape.  It is virtually dry although there is a perception of sweetness.  Light silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has quince with a slight petrol note.  Medium bodied and slightly viscous.  On the palate, there is a nice sour lemons note along with some pears.  There is a strong backbone of acidity which I love but depending on your preferences may be an issue.  It carries the finish out a long way.  As this opened, the sour lemon note became slightly candied (in a good way) and melded well with the pear.  In a tasting of dry Tokaji wines, this

From what is arguably one of the "Grand Cru" sites for red wine in Hungary.  This is 100% Kekfrankos that is biodynamically grown.  Purple in color with lighter ruby at the edges.  Opaque and bright.  The nose is earthy, slight barnyard with nice cherry fruit.  On the palate, nice sour cherry fruit with medium tannins.  Slight cough drop note.  Slight forest floor.  Long finish.  This is complex and deep and also tasty.  This seems like it has some upside and will improve over the next three to five years.  Drink over the next ten to twelve.  Certainly, this will work well with meat dishes