Delicious, crisp white wine for 5 euros – Nyakas Irsai Olivér 2019

Irsai Olivér is a local grape of Hungary, a cross made in 1930. It has a bad reputation amongst wine aficionados as a dull, cheap, mass produced wine. An equivalent of low priced Pinot Grigio perhaps – except that it’s a highly aromatic, Muscat-like variety. And when made well, it can be quite pretty, like the most well-known version, made near Budapest by Nyakas.

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The new Szekszárd – Heimann Family Estate introduces their new lineup of red wines

At the end of January I visited Szekszárd on the Southern part of the country. Together with Villány, it is the region making the ripest, more full-bodied reds of the country, based on mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc – but in a different style than Bordeaux. There is generally a slight move away from overoaked, big reds in recent years, but what I tasted at the region’s most famous producer Heimann is something groundbraking.

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One to drink, not to analyze: Schieber Kadarka Trilógia 2018 from Szekszárd

Kadarka rarely gets cheaper than the Schieber Trilógia 2018 from Szekszárd. That means 5-6 Euros on shelves. I wonder if it makes enough profit for them, considering that Kadarka is tricky to grow – the tiniest bit of rain around harvest time results in serious rot and loss of crop. One of its best producers, Heimann told me once that they do rigorous grape sorting to ensure quality, discarding half the crop on average.

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