2012 Pannon Wine Challenge day 0

Posted on 9 May 2012

So I’m in Hungary to judge in the Pannon Wine Challenge. Had a nice stroll through Budapest including the covered market, looking at the amazing selection of fresh and dried paprikas and Hungarian-made whole raw foie gras at 4000 HUF apiece. Then met with the happy bunch of fellow wine writers to warm up for the acual judging. Dinner was at Onyx, one of Budapest’s two 1 Michelin star restaurants.

It was a finely orchestrated meal with the silver service you’d expect from a place like this. The menu was a thoughtful revamp of Hungarian classics, including a foie gras starter zested up with a green apple gelée and chicken leg pâté, a bean & sausage soup given an elegant touch with the addition of a langoustine and bisque, and a perfectly cooled veal fillet with veal cheek beignet and a curious surf & turf teist of tuna tataki (fellow writer Tara Thomas remarked it was actually a revamped vitello tonnato; not that the tuna really emhanced the dish, IMHO.

Each dish came with a matching wine, of course, including a spectacular match of white asparagus and bergamot sabayon with a crisp Slovak-Hungarian Riesling 2010 from Bott Frigyes (in itself pretty ordinary). There were some duds too, including the 2006 Percze Furmint from Királyudvar with its strange mix of oxidative appliness and raw acids. We had two truly outstanding wines, the 2006 Gneisz Kékfrankos from Ráspi in Sopron, a wine of haunting Burgundian cherry-driven finesse, and Kikelet’s 2007 Tokaji Aszu 6 puttonyos, last year’s Bormustra’s trophy winner, understated and not particularly powerful but beautifully balanced and deep. A good omen for this year’s competition.

Disclosure

I am paid to work as a juror at the Pannon Wine Challenge and my flights, accommodation and evening programme is paid for by the organisers.