A rare opportunity to taste the wines of Hungary popped up on the calendar this past week. So we hustled over to Total Wine in East Plano for a joint presentation by Thomas Hoeber (of Dallas-based importer Aqueous Spirits) and Norman Günzer (of Villány’s Günzer Estate Winery).
Hungarian wines have a long and illustrious history. Wine was made there as far back as the Roman Empire, and Tokaj is sometimes said to be the world’s first demarcated wine region, dating back to 1737.
But the country’s wine legacy was severely interrupted by five decades of communist rule which broke up family wine estates. State-run wineries emphasized bulk production, often from non-native grapes. Today, Hungarian wine is experiencing a resurgence and becoming known among wine-lovers for both quality and value.
I first became aware of Günzer Estate in June, when a somm acquaintance sold me on a bottle of their 2016 Bocor Cuvée. It’s a single-vineyard blend based on Blaufränkisch (Kékfrankos in Hungarian). It turned out to be one of the best red wines I’ve tasted this year–and I don’t even need to qualify that statement with “for the price,” although it was also insanely affordable.
Thursday night, Günzer and Hoeber presented eight Hungarian wines from four unique regions to a packed room. It was an information-dense presentation, covering production methods, soil types, packaging considerations and many of the indigenous grapes of Hungary. We washed down the new knowledge with pours from Günzer and other producers. (I am just beginning to learn about Hungarian wine, so apologies if any of the facts in this article are already well-known to you, my erudite readers.)
Most wine drinkers in the room were familiar with Tokaji Aszú, the botrytized sweet wine from the north of Hungary. But few of us had ever had the chance to taste Tokaji in its dry form, and we were in for a treat!
This was the first pour, a white blend from Gizella Winery in Tokaj. Vibrant aromas of apple, white peach, quince, honey and mead. It has a refreshing grapefruit and tree-fruit flavor, leaning off-dry with medium body and pronounced minerality. (I know…it’s not super polite to make such comparisons…but if you blinded me on this I would’ve sworn it was a nice Vouvray.) The grapes are the same as the main two used in Tokaji Aszú: Furmint and Hárslevelű.
Günzer explained that in Hungary, Furmint and Hárslevelű are regarded as a married couple–best when they are united in a blend. Furmint, with its very high acid and low alcohol, is complemented by Hárslevelű, which is the inverse. Some Hungarian winemakers, we learned, also pair Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the same way.
The wine facts kept on flowing from the pair of expert presenters. Sweet Tokaji is famous for being labor-intensive. But, Hoeber told us, dry styles also require attentive harvesting in the vineyard. Being susceptible to noble rot–which is not desirable in this particular wine–ideally the grapes will be inspected daily and picked at the right moment when the flavors are fully developed, but before any mold can affect them. That vigilance, combined with the region’s high international reputation, is one of the reasons that wines from Tokaj are never cheap.
Hungary grows some international varieties, of which Cabernet Franc is the most important. But several other grapes of France have limited plantings. We next tried a Pinot Gris (called Szürkebarát, or “gray friend” in Hungarian) from Laposa. Made in a dry, fuller-bodied Alsatian style, it smells of ripe peaches and honey with a distinctive haze of smoke.
Günzer was clearly eager to present his family’s wines, and those were next, beginning with the Günzer Chardonnay. We tasted two vintages side-by side: The 2020 and the 2024.
The 2020 was the crowd favorite by a large margin–classically rich but fresh with toasted almond, yellow apples, and mandarin peel. It also has a fascinating green-olive salinity. (Is this what the marketing copy meant by “limestone purity, Mediterranean warmth”? Still learning to speak wine.) As nicely as the 2020 is holding up, the winemaker confessed to preferring the younger wine. The 2024 wears its oak more lightly, an intensely floral and peachy Chard with a lilting mineral finish.
Günzer’s Estate Rosé came next–absolutely crushable and a steal at $10.99. (Or probably like eight bucks with Total Wine discounts…I’m serious.) It’s based on hand-harvested Kékfrankos and Pinot Noir. Fermented strawberry, bruised rose petal, and orange tea on the nose with high acidity and fresh flavors of white pepper and gingerbread spice.
The region Villány loves its rosé and makes lots for local consumption, Günzer told us. (Rosé accounts for about 30-40% of total production.) The preferred method is to pick late, direct-press the grapes, and release the wine immediately for intense red-fruit flavors and minimal oxidation.
A half-hour left in class and four wines to go–uh oh. Fortunately, Wine #5 was one of those bottles that seems to stop time when you sip it: The St. Andrea “Maria” Egri Csillag (“Star of Eger”) white blend.
An absolute stunner with aromas of sticky pineapple, ripe peach, mandarin, kumquat, evergreen, and pine resin. It follows through on the palate with luscious flavors of syrup-poached pineapple (cardamom, clove, and vanilla) and powerful acidity. Sweet golden fruit is balanced by toasty pine nut, pineapple leaf, agave and mineral salt. Blend of Chardonnay (60%), Furmint (35%), and Sauvignon Blanc (5%). It’s classified as Grand Superior, the highest PDO category of Eger.
I was sad to hurry through the two reds…hopefully I will get to taste them again at a later time. But even moving at a brisk pace, they made an impression.
First among the reds, Günzer presented his family’s Estate Cabernet Franc. It is, he explained, a good representative of the style. The hallmarks of Villány Cabernet Franc are its low yields (one bottle per vine), fruit ripeness (they do not prefer any pyrazines in their Cab Franc), and a touch of sweet vanilla and spice from French oak. The wine is both robust and graceful, its high alcohol not quashing its delicate aromas. Expect flavors of bold red cherry and confected plums accented with cinnamon bark, lightly cured tobacco, and violets.
Next, we tasted the gigantic, savoury “Merengő,” also by St. Andrea. The style is a traditional Egri Bikaver (“bull’s blood”)–a traditional full-bodied blend from the region of Eger. The name “Merengő” refers to a thinker, reinforcing the impression that this is a heavy, contemplative wine. (Will drinking it make a person smarter? Bottoms up–let’s find out! 🤓)
“Merengő is meaty and complex, with ripe black plums and cherries, mulberry, leather, black pepper, coffee grounds, and earth. Some purple florals here, too. It’s a blend of Kékfrankos, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The components are aged separately in large oak barrels (French and Hungarian) before final blending.
We closed out the night with the Feind Zenit semi-sweet wine. (Zenit is the grape.) It’s fairly neutral with yellow apple, honeysuckle, and some green melon. It begs for a plate of salty cheese and an hour to pass the bottle around the table with friends.
It was an absolute pleasure to get to taste these uncommon, family-made wines of Hungary with the people who know them the best. I learned a lot and tasted some bottles I wouldn’t have found on my own.
If you follow this blog, you know that I have occasionally ragged on some of Total Wine’s classroom offerings in the past. But classes like this–that showcase traditional wine-making and lesser-known regions–are the best of the best.
In Hungary, many estates are very small and are lovingly dedicated to the historic varieties of their regions. That means that getting to know styles and producers takes a little extra effort. But it’s well worth it. The story of Hungary’s wine renaissance is inspiring. These wines are expressive and accessibly priced and they deserve to find a wider audience among inquisitive drinkers.
(And, on a personal note: As of this week, I’m in-between exams for at least a few months. Hooray! That means I get to spend more time with wines that interest me and not just wines that are testable. Feeling ready to celebrate–maybe with a bottle of Merengő!)
Wines tasted (prices are Total Wine regular retail):
Gizella Furmint-Hárslevelű (2024) – Tokaj, Hungary – $20.99
Laposa Pinot Gris (2022) – Badacsony, Hungary – $14.49
Günzer Chardonnay (2020) – Villány, Hungary – $22.99
Günzer Chardonnay (2024) – Villány, Hungary – $22.99
Günzer’s Estate Rosé (2024) – Villány, Hungary – $10.99
St. Andrea “Maria” Egri Csillag Grand Superior Cuvée (2022) – Eger, Hungary – $57.99
Günzer’s Estate Cabernet Franc (2021) – Villány, Hungary – $26.99
St. Andrea “Merengő” Egri Bikaver Superior (2021) – Eger, Hungary – $34.99
Feind Zenit (2022) – Balatonfüred-Csopak, Hungary – $12.99
Further reading:
Taste Hungary: A Short Guide to Hungarian Wine
The Wine Fairy: Review: Günzer Estate Bocor Single Vineyard Selection Cuvée (2016)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. I received two complimentary tickets to the “Wines of Hungary” class as a perk of my Total Wine Grand Reserve Rewards membership. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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