Bock is one the most well-known names in Hungary, one that even not wine drinking people are familiar with. Big, expensive reds made them famous three decades ago, when Hungarian wine started basically from scratch (after the Communist rule, which ended in 1989), but they make lots of cheap(ish) wine for supermarkets.
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Promising future: Bodri Malbec 2022
It’s early days for malbec in Hungary but based on this entry level red from Bodri, it might have a future here.
Solid Hungarian nouveau: Bodri Gúnár 2023
Such a fun wine that I went back to the store to buy more. Another nouveau done very well. Continue reading
Nouveau time – Bock Portagéza 2023
The best Hungarian nouveau wine I believe I’ve ever tasted. Not by miles and it’s a tiny competition, yet it’s still a real achievement.
Top notch kadarka: Heimann & Fiai 2022
The Heimann family did it again. An outstanding kadarka, great successor to the amazing 2021 – and one of the most exciting Hungarian red wines out there.
Supermarket wines – Gál Szőlőbirok és Pincészet Chardonnay 2022
An entry level Hungarian chardonnay that delivers in most vintages, and the 2022 is a pleasant wine again. Continue reading
Hungarian nouveau: Vylyan Bogyólé 2023
Vylyan Bogyolé is ususally the first wine I taste from the current year, it pops up earlier than even Beaujolais Nouveau. For the first time (AFAIK) it’s a pure zweigelt.
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Standout kékfrankos rose: Eger Cottage 2022 by Bukolyi Marcell
100% kékfrankos (a.k.a. blaufrankisch) rose is often somewhat one dimensional and rustic (angular, sharp), but not this one. What a pleasant surprise!
Fun Villány red: Kiss Gábor Rouge 364 2022
Kiss Gábor is a well-known Villány producer, but he operates on a lesser scale then big names like Gere or Bock. What I tasted from him in the past did not make me a fan, but his 2022 reds are a completely different story. I liked his cabernet franc quite a lot so I bought a bottle of his entry level Rouge 364, and it’s actually almost as good its pricier brother.
Supermarket wines: Bock Rozé 2022, Villány, Hungary
Following on the Kakas, here is another rose from Villány, but this time from Bock, a just as big and well-known producer as Vylyan. Theirs is a more successful wine if you ask me, I would definitely recommend it.