Varieties
Hungary is blessed with plethora indigenous grape varieties
hailing from the Carpathian Basin that produce the full spectrum of
wines from the fresh and fragrant to the deep and intense. Quite
simply they produce wines of original and complex character than
you won't find elsewhere. Of the international varieties,
Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with the two reds often
in tandem in blends, undeniably produce some of Hungary's best
wines. However, the usually lesser coveted Cab, Cabernet Franc,
takes on extra taste dimensions in Hungarian soil. Pinot Gris
(known locally as Szukebarát) also captures Hungary's trademark
minerality and brings it to the wine in the glass.
Olaszrizling
The most widely planted variety in Hungary has refreshing acids
and a bitter almond character. It works well for making fresh and
crispy, easy-drinking reductive dry wines, but also can be rich and
complex when fermented and aged in oak. Olaszrizling, known as
Welschriesling to the Austrians, is not to be confused with
Riesling, which is known as Rajnai rizling in Hungarian, although
the pair are often blended to great effect by Lake Balaton
winemakers. Widespread, with the notable exception of Tokaj.
Furmint
Hungary's most noble white grape variety excels in making
everything from bone-dry whites to being the central component of
the sumptuously sweet Tokaji Aszús. Its thin-skinned closely-packed
medium-sized berries are prone to attack from highly prized "noble
rot", i.e. botrytis. This late ripening varietal, which takes
up 60% of Tokaj's vineyard, typically provides the elegant but firm
backbone of Tokaji Aszú, but is now firmly established in the
region as a full-bodied, often steely, dry white thanks to its
ability to extract the volcanic character of Tokaj soil. In the
best cases it captures the individual character of a particular
vineyard. In Somló it often produces outstanding full-bodied,
mineral rich dry whites that are highly prized on the local market
and, like those from Tokaj, age well for years.
Hárslevelű
This Carpathian native combines brilliantly with Furmint in
Tokaji Aszú, usually taking up a lesser share in the blend and
accounts for some 30% of the region's vines. It typically gives the
final Aszú blend more enticing aromas and added depth and spiciness
on the palate. Its loosely-packed thick-skinned berries are less
likely to be attacked by botrytis in drier years than Furmint but
it's less likely for the noble rot to turn to malignant rot in wet
years. Like Furmint, Hárslevelű is also becoming established as dry
white in Tokaj, though it has long been popular dry from the
volcanic and mineral rich soils of Somló. Linden Leaf, to give the
grape an English moniker, is also found in Eger.
Irsai Olivér
Anything but an ancient variety, this early ripening Muscat-like
hybrid of Pozsonyi Fehér and Csaba Gyöngye was created in 1930 and
shows that Hungarian winemaking also has its roots in the not so
distant past. Pungent and perfumed on the nose then fresh and
fruity on the palate with mineral notes in the usual dry finish,
Irsai Olivér is made to be drunk young. It is sometimes blended
with Chardonnay to give it extra weight and sometimes acidity.
However, it is increasingly sought in its single-varietal form and
is extremely popular for its impressive price:quality ratio.
Királyleányka
A crossing of Kövérszőlő, i.e. the "fat" grape which sometimes
plays a supporting role in Tokaji Aszú, and Leányka, Királyleányka
is floral and fruity with plenty of primary grape character.
Translated as the "Little Princess", this Transylvanian originating
grape has an elegant lightness of touch with plenty of thirst
quenching stone fruit notes on the palate. Made in dry and
semi-sweet styles, it's very common in Eger, Etyek, Mátra, Mór and
Neszmély. It is usually made to be drunk young.
Kékfrankos
Hungary's most widely planted red grape usually forms the
backbone of Eger's and Szekszárd's Bikavér blends and also makes
expressive and distinctive single varietal wines. With supple
tannins and good acidity it is capable of long ageing and is
enhanced by maturation in oak. Kékfrankos is abundant in dark
cherry and fruits of the forest notes, and often exudes a spicy,
peppery character, especially in Sopron and Szekszárd. Like
white Olaszrizling, Kékfrankos has succeeded in casting off its
mass production image from the collectivisation of the former
system and has benefited immensely from later ripening and being
harvested in lower yields. Across the border in Austria, it is
known as Blaufrankisch where it is also gaining international
recognition.
Kadarka
This light coloured red is normally low in tannins but has
vibrant acidity, rustic and raspberry aromas, and a spicy
aftertaste that makes it an ideal easy drinking wine. However, when
made from lower yields it can be complex and concentrated with
delicious notes of sweet spice present on the otherwise floral and
intensely red-fruit rich palate. Kadarka is an important but small
component of Szekszárdi Bikavér, prized for the piquant edge it
delivers to the blend and has also been replanted in Eger for the
same purpose. Kadarka, known in Bulgaria as Gamza, has been present
in Hungary since it arrived with Serbs fleeing Ottoman invasion in
the late 16th Century. Up until the 1960's it accounted for
two-thirds of red grape plantings but then was almost wiped out as
this tricky to cultivate grape was not deemed fit for the mass
production required by communism collectivisation.
Portugieser
This thin-skinned early-ripener thrives down south in the
hottest Hungarian region of Villány. Rustic in character, it makes
essentially easy-drinking wines packed with primary and ripe red
fruit flavours marked by thirst quenching acids. It is a fresh wine
that's generally made to be drunk young. The Portugieser grape was
known as Kékoportó until EU regulation decreed in 2004 that the
name had to be changed for treading too closely to that of the
Portuguese for tified wine. It most probably came to Hungary with
winemaking Germanic settlers as opposed to the often wrongly
assumed Portuguese, and plays a role in Hungarian winemaking
something akin to the Gamay of Beaujolais. The first wines from
Portugieser are made for St. Martin's day on November 11 each
year.
Cabernet Franc
Not an indigenous Hungarian of course, but the grape that
typically plays a supporting role to more prestigious Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot is coming into its own in Villány, Szekszárd,
Eger and part of Lake Balaton. Cabernet Sauvignon's less decorated
sibling produces dense, meaty, and juicy wines with super smooth
tannins that can even display even more complexity than Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot. This is no mean feat that those two have
produced many of Hungary's most acclaimed reds. An earlier ripener
than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc gives off mocca, dark
chocolate, red and black fruit aromas and has a soft but full
bodied texture. It is increasingly the key component of Bordeaux
style blends.