It's been a while already since I saw the last premium bottling of anything Hungarian at Vintages, though while there recently I came across this Cab Franc which is a rarity to be sure. I picked a bottle of it up since Central European wines are near and dear to my vinous heart and I rarely pass up a chance to better acquaint myself with quality table wines from that part of the world.
12.5% alc. Clear medium-garnet colour with pretty saturation. Intensely juicy nose featuring tart tomato purée, sumac and green bell pepper aromas; all very appetizing. Very tart and grippy on the entry with bright, lean acidity; very much a table wine in need of food to accompany it. Flavours are consistent with the nose. Acidity dominates over the tannins but despite this fact, the nose is not excessively green. (In Ontario, by contrast, it seems that Cab Franc shows plenty of bell pepper on the nose but the tannins share centre stage with the acidity.) A streak of wood spice adds a pleasant dimension to the wine and rounds out the pleasantly dry and astringent finish. I get the feeling that this wine should be drunk up soon; no point laying it down.
I do expect the bouquet to evolve and integrate within the coming day. I will post a follow-up note tomorrow to see how the wine evolves in the open bottle. I just opened it 20 minutes ago, so it may be in a bit of a slumber at this point, but it's very good already.
