ALL BOTTLES OF THESE FOUR 2015 WHITES SHOULD BE BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE!

Eger August 28-31

August 28 and 29 White Wine Tasting

I am going to divide my Eger visit into two separate posts:

-         White wine tasting

-         Red wine tasting including Bikavar –and that’s no bull!

(Note: before I lose track, I tasted 16 wines in Tokaj)

I arrived at my guesthouse in Eger, obviously in the Eger wine region about noon.   My destination to taste wine was The Valley of the Beautiful Women.  By the way, nobody knows for sure how it got its name. 

There are a series of caves excavated from the rock totaling about 150 or so.  However most are locked and looked abandoned.  See photo below.

There are about 40 however clustered together and open for wine tasting/sales.  Each winery has its own cave.  The winery name is posted at the entrance to the cave.  For example the winery Toth Ferenc is in cave 46.  The photo below shows the entrances to several caves which includes Ferenc (good wines).

You go into one of the caves, look the menu of wines that particular winery has available for tasting and make your selection.  Wines are usually sold by the glass.  Since my goal was to taste a considerable number I asked for only a sip of each.

I picked a cave at random and sampled four white wines, all 2015 vintage.  The cave shall remain nameless (also numberless since each cave has a number as well.)  Each wine was harsh, acid, basically yucky.  I mean really bad.

I sought solace in food from the restaurant Kulac’s nearby.  It had been recommended by my guesthouse host as offering outstanding examples of Hungarian fare.  How right he was (in fact I would wind up eating lunch there for each of the three days of wine tasting in the ‘Valley’).

The outdoor terrace sits under an enormous grape arbor replete with hanging clusters of grapes, almost ripe at this time of year.

Huge portions are served as you can see from the photo below which shows venison chops smothered in a ragout of goose liver, and dilled mushrooms.  Delicious and the heavy food definitely induced a late afternoon nap.

I spent that night doing considerable research on wineries represented in the ‘Valley’.  The first day I really paid the price just selecting a cave at random.

This day I went armed with knowledge of better Hungarian Wine Producers who occupy some of the caves.   As the song goes “What a Difference a Day Makes”.

Here are my tasting notes:

Kokut Borhazsi Winery

Jozef Hagaymasi

Cave 19

Tasted four white wines:

Hagymasi Pince 2013

Nose of melon and other fruits.  Lovely bouquet.

Taste apples and melon.  No acid. Pleasant aftertaste.

Ice Wine 2011

Not much of a bouquet

Taste semi sweet.  Pleasant on the palate.  Very good dessert wine.

Csillag

Faint bouquet

Mineral taste, no acid.  Good drinkable wine

Tasted another very good white but lost my notes.

See photo below for cave interior.

This is a very small winery.  They will not likely export any of their wines.  I can only say that I enjoyed these so much that I am tempted to return next year and do a more extensive tasting!

Sandor Pince

Cave 31

I was only tasting white wines today.   Sandor only had two available.

Leanyka 2015

Pale straw color

Nose of fermenting grape must

Taste innocuous.  Slight fizz on the tongue aftertaste (usually caused by malolactic fermentation)

Muscat 2015

Alcohol nose

Very faint floral for a muscat.  Interesting hint of rosemary.

Taste semi sweet dry a little off putting finish.

To be fair, they are known for their reds (which I did not have time to taste the next day)

Sike Tamas Winery

Cave 43   

Valami Feher Cuvee 2013

Pale color, no detectable nose

Not a great finish, slightly tart

Egri Csillag 2014

Slight straw color

Faint barnyard nose

Taste slightly dry with a little acidity

Fizz on the tongue

Chardonnay 2011

Pale straw color

Most delicate nose of any Chardonnay I can remember

Taste incredibly rounded, delightful on the palate, bit of an acid chalky aftertaste.

Egerszolati Olaszrizling 2009

(not to be confused with a German Risling grape)

15% alcohol

Oaked

nose strawberries, citrusy

taste semi dry, no acid, progression of melon to citrus finish slightly mineral

nice residual flavor left in the mouth

Olaszrizling 2012

13% alcohol

Golden color

Nose slight linden flower

Taste- first a bouquet of roses going to a medley of flowers in the background.

A nice complex wine.  At least four different layers of taste unfolded one after the other as the wine reached the back of the palate.

Very clean feeling in the mouth.  Very slightly acid.

So, 11 white wines in the ‘Valley’ bring my tasting total to 27 counting the ones I samples in Tokaj.