Madal Café at a fantastic location, at Ferenciek tere, in the heart of Pest. I went only for a coffee, but it’s hard to resist when you see those cookies. What do you do when you are on a diet? There are options, luckily, those little sweet vegan balls must not contain too many calories. The cardamom flavored was pretty nice. And the coffee? Great, as always.
Simply the benchmark for entry level Eger wine – this is how they should look. Continue reading
Another good Kadarka! Nothing complicated, it’s in the same league as the Heimann 2017– light, quaffer style. It’s also flawless and a good example of the variety yet has its own character. The most typical rose hips nose, with a twist of some rooibos tea notes. As delicate as the pale cherry color suggests, tannins and acidity at the bare minimum – an easy drink for sure. Unforced yet refined. A very well made Kadarka with personality. Continue reading
The Heimann Kadarka 2017 has been recently featured in the Wines of the week series on jancisrobinson.com, which made me realize that I have not tasted this wine yet, although recently I was impressed by Heimann’s top Kadarka, the Céh Kereszt 2017. That was actually the best example of the variety I have tried in the last few years, too bad that it quickly disappeared from the market (but hey, seems to be available in the UK at Thirty Nince 10, I highly recommend to go for it).
Last week Budapest wine bar Carpe Diem invited István Balassa to hold a vertical tasting of his top dry Tokaji wine called Villő, and also to present his exciting new project: a bunch of single vineyard sweet Szamorodnis from the vintage 2017 (soon to be available at Bortársaság). István is one of the top producers in Tokaj and I have not tasted his wines for years so I could not miss this great opportunity.
Avignon, a regional center, the gate to enter the Southern Rhone. It must be the paradise for wine enthusiasts interested in the Rhone. What are the options for the wine lover, who seeks the opportunity to explore the region’s wines, who wants to compare a glass of Cairanne to a Rasteau and then to a Gigondas? Surely, fancy restaurants might offer a great selection of wines but that’s a different business. There is probably only one place in town offering what we are looking for: Le Vin Deviant Soi. Continue reading
Best after opening. Restrained in style, quite elegant and easy to drink. Slightly aromatic, reflecting the variety, but overall it’s neutral. The best part comes when you take a sip – there is density here, a slightly oily texture, without heaviness. Add to that a salty taste and integrated acidity, and you have a quite special mouthfeel – it’s a textural white wine. More about character than complexity, but still pretty nice.
Mourvedre (a.k.a. Monastrell) is one of my absolute favorite grape variety. This Spanish version rocks when young. Continue reading
