90points+

Retrospective – a lineup of 2014 Bordeaux reds

Image ~ ~ Zoltán Németi

My friend András collected a bunch of 2014 reds from Bordeaux many years ago, when they were on the market. It was now time to open them he thought a few weeks ago, so we asked our little wine club if anyone was interested, and let me tell you that I rarely seen such interest from people – we were a bit too many at the end. I cannot understand why Bordeaux is unfashionable on the market as it’s still a favourite of real wine lovers. Me included. And these 2014s were really superb, I loved most of them. My favourites were the Ch. Phelan-Segur, the Ch. Gloria, the Ch. Figeac and the Ch. Chasse-Spleen, all rather medium-bodied and elegant. Continue reading →

Hungarian flagship reds IV.: Gere Kopar 2020

Image ~ ~ Zoltán Németi
The last wine from the blindtasting covered by previous posts is probably Hungary’s most famous big red: the Kopar from Gere. It was first made in 1997 if not even earlier, so there’s history to it; it’s made to last and I can confirm that it’s able to age for 15 years or more. Personally I often found it a bit too sweet in the past, but the current release is just great.

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Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion 2020

Image ~ ~ Zoltán Németi
I wanted to put a great Bordeaux into our Hungarian flagship line-up (see previous three posts), for reference and also for fun. Tasted blind I found it a bit Italianesque with its power and warm, Southern character – thought it was from Villány. It came out at second place for me. As a compliment to the Hungarian ones, they were in the same league, at least when it comes to concentration and complexity.

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Outstanding blaufrankisch: Dorli Muhr Prellenkirchen Samt&Seide 2021

Image ~ ~ Zoltán Németi
Photo taken on the Radovin portfolio tasting

I’m not a fan of the 2021 vintage in Hungary, but interestingly it’s a completely different story for Dorli Muhr, just outside the country border. Its her best so far I was told, and when she presented a mini-vertical of her Prellenkirchen Samt&Seide a year ago in Budapest, it was indeed the 2021 which impressed me the most. Continue reading →