That said, we had plenty of fun!
The first visit was to Laposa Bazaltbor where they had some very crisp and respectable wines. The most curious wine was the 2007 Somloi Juhfark because I had never tasted anything like it. Firm, tightly wound, fresh, crisp, and mineral, all the structural elements I like in wine, but with that funky floral (although not quite foxy) flavor profile that is new to me. I bought a bottle for future evaluation. The other two most impressive wines were the 2006 Badacsony Welsch Riesling „Válogatás“ and the 2006 Somloi Welsch Riesling „Válogatás“ both from single vineyards although apparently the name of the vineyards have been lost. These were the upper level wines and showed more poise and structure than the multiple lower level wines we tasted. Nothing to complain about winemaking-wise from my end. Although, the funky foxy flavor profile of the Welsch riesling is still something I can’t quite get used to. Interestingly enough, the Somloi terroir should give more austere wines but on this day the Badacsony shows more austere and the Somloi shows creamier. The two wines with more noble grape profiles were the 2006 Badacsony Hárslevelü and the 2006 Badacsony Furmint, refreshing in a way. But these were young vines (at least the furmint was) and did not have the same grip, structure, or poise as the slightly-foxy Welsch rieslings. I guess you can’t have everything!
Tasting in the Laposa Bazaltbor cellar.
Outside Laposa Bazaltbor with Ambrus.
At this point we had worked up quite an appetite so it was off to a hearty lunch where Ambrus encouraged us to eat as much fatty food as possible to line our stomachs. And then we strolled over to his mentor’s winery Németh Pince. Here we had the pleasure of tasting through an extensive lineup with the winemaker and several members of his staff and family (including his wife who offered us the most fascinating wine labels from the Communist era). For my tastes, the dry wines were very severe fierce stern sour underripe and difficult to taste (yes, all of that!) but his skills were better expressed with the off-dry and the sweet wines.
Some of the off-dry wines from the ‚Aszú Domb’ vineyard (so named for the capacity of the vineyard to produce Aszú wines) were impressive and worth drinking. The sugar seemed to cover the foxy edges of the Welsch riesling and allowed me to enjoy the floral flavors and light pale melt-in-the-mouth texture. The most impressive was the 2006 Aszú which was thicker but also with better acidity and elegance than all of the other various sweet wines we tried, very impressive. Unfortunately it was not yet bottled for sale. (However, I wonder if this is something that I would need to drink soon because the 2003 Aszú was not as thick and sweet and was also showing more of that foxy Welsch riesling character, which did not endear me).
To finish the tasting we had some 6 year old homemade brandy that Ambrus barely choked down, along with some 100% botrytis 1999 „Essencia“. This was technically not „Essencia“ because that term only applies to Tokaji, but it didn’t matter because he only made 9 bottles and they were never for sale. This one had been open for 1 month and apparently still needed air, but I enjoyed it just fine. The nutty sherry-like nose followed by all the dark sweet raisins you can imagine. Fun stuff.
But, it was pouring rain outside so naturally it was time to head back to Ambrus’ mother’s house to taste his wine and have some snacks on the porch. These Bakó Pince wines were the most modern and attractive wines I tasted all day. Ambrus is only getting started so there is no telling how his style will evolve, and for the moment he is working with purchased fruit that may vary from year to year, but clearly he was able to tame some of the funky foxy notes that were bothering me elsewhere and produce wines that were more flattering. For my critical tastes they might have been a touch too flattering and round at the moment, but they were very young (some of them still in barrel) and we were not exactly tasting under the most analytical circumstances. So, again, no detailed notes other than to say that I will be watching to see what comes from here, especially because I was most impressed by the 2006 Badacsony Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (a variety I don’t often taste) which was in an off-dry style and very balanced firm fruity attractive and pleasing to drink.
After David’s earlier notes I had been especially curious to learn more about the local grape Kéknyelü. We did taste a few but not enough to form a consensus. I guess I’ll have to go back!
