Pinot Noir Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Wojciech BońkowskiWojciech Bońkowski

Exciting Croatia (4): Plešivica

My next stop in Croatia: Plešivica, a cool inland hilly zone close to Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Very individual wines including one from amphora!

Happy end

Why is every merchant in London selling (roughly) the same burgundies?

Under the watchful eye

Rubbing shoulders with 16th-century gentlemen.

Infinite riches

Tasting short of 1,000 burgundies in London.

Franz Haas Pinot Nero Schweizer 2002

I’ve roast a large 4-kg goose and needed a wine to go with those fatty flavours with plenty of umami. One match that I’ve enjoyed many times is an aged dry Riesling, but a 2002 one from Franken I picked from the cellar didn’t thrill, so eating the second half of the bird today with some added sauerkraut, I opted for a Pinot Noir.

This 8-year-old wine comes from the Alpine region of Alto Adige/Südtirol, formally within Italy but German-speaking and historically a part of Austria. Franz Haas is one of the leading producers there – in a region where the best wines are made by co-ops, he is one of the few private estates that can compete – and a long record of excellence with his Pinot Bianco and Pinot Nero. There are two bottlings of the latter and this, with a label drawn by local artist Riccardo Schweizer, is the more expensive cru (the basic PN has a b&w label).The colour is medium light and slowly maturing. The bouquet starts off a little meaty but with airing this quickly becomes cherries and red currents, with a bit of Pinot Noir flowery bonbon sweetness balanced by savoury notes. Really rather structured with plenty of acidity, this shows no evolved notes and has plenty of life ahead. Deliciously fruity but also with stature and seriousness.

Mason vineyards, the Adige valley, and the Alps west of the Adige hit by morning sun.

Alto Adige is home to some very exciting Pinot Noirs. It strikes me that it doesn’t get much recognition as such in the international press – there appears to be more focus on Germany and Austria whose Pinots, in my opinion, cannot match those of Alto Adige. With its variety of soils and exposures this region is well suited to growing many different grapes, but one area reputed for Pinot Noir is on the east bank of the Adige river (hence exposed west), at an altitude of around 300m, called Mason (or Mazzon). Haas’ Schweizer is partly sourced from here. Alto Adige Pinot Noirs can often err on the meaty, savoury side, but they have more vivid fruit, more balanced alcohol, and can apparently digest new oak better than their German or Austrian counterparts. Another really interesting characteristic is their good ageing potential: I think many can age better than good Burgundies. Many at age 8–10 are still showing young and punchy (like my Haas today), and I once had a superlative 15-year-old 1991 from J. Hofstätter, the region’s other champion of Pinot Noir.

Continue Reading →

Eger’s quest for self

I’m in Eger to explore the current winemaking scene. This leading Hungarian red wine region is going through a difficult period, as everywhere in Hungary. Exports are stagnant and the home market has seen its buying power shrink considerably because of the financial crunch. The numerous recent takeovers and buyouts add to the mood of uncertainty.

There’s been wide repercussion in Hungary of my earlier article (after it was translated on leading website A Művelt Alkoholista) in which I criticised the tendency towards superalcoholic blockbusters, and the issue has boomeranged several times in my talks with the producers. I’ve tasted a large number of 15% alc. wines here, and not all were bad (Gróf Buttler’s 2006 Egri Bikavér is actually spectacular) but I can’t help thinking many grapes are just picked too late: one vintner told me he had hoped to pick his Olaszrizling plots on 9th and 10th September 2009 but due to the wine festival in Budapest he had to attend, this was postponed by 6 days. No wonder some barrels topped 15% and still had some residual sugar last week.

And one producer I don’t wish to name showed us a 2002 Pinot Noir that summed up all the Hungarian disease I addressed in my earlier musings: picked completely botrytised and subjected to cold soak (“they told me in Burgundy it’s how you’re supposed to make Pinot Noir”) that slowed fermentation to several months, it reached 17.2% and over 5g of residual sugar; with vodka-like alcohol and premature oxidation, it’s a complete caricature of a wine (but the producer is very proud of it and predicts a 30-year ageing).

Fortunately there is a legion of very good wines available in Eger and from the everyday consumer’s point of view, the ‘Hungarian disease’ is not a major issue. Customer satisfaction is increased by the fact that to face a penniless local market, many producers have lowered prices, and it’s now possible to buy a fairly serious oak-aged white or red wine for 1500–1800 forints (5.50–6.50€). Some of the best bargains include the 2008 Napbor white and 2007 Bikavér Áldás red from St. Andrea, the seriously structured 2006 Egri Bikavér from rising star János Bolyki, the 2006 Bertram from Vilmos Thummerer (this Bordeauxesque blend is only 3.30€!), and the 2008 Négykezes red from Tamás Pók.

Traditional barrels in the Thummerer cellar.

We also tasted some top-class efforts from the above-mentioned wineries, such as the 2006 Bikavér Merengő (see earlier article here) and a stunningly Burgundian unfiltered 2006 Paptag Pinot Noir from St. Andrea, Tamás Pók’s extremely promising and inexpensive 2008 Pajdos, vibrant, tight, mineral and proudly Central European; a winning 2007 Síkhegy Pinot Noir from Tibor Gál as well as his penetratingly mineral 2008 Kadarka (this traditional grape has at some point almost been abandoned in Eger, but is returning to form, and we tasted a good half-dozen very recommendable wines); and a brilliant series of wines from the controversial Gróf Buttler estate, topped by a world-class 2009 Viognier, a ripe, Mediterranean but beautifully elegant 2007 Nagy-Eged Pinot Noir and the 2003 Phantom, a reserve Syrah of Hermitage-like mineral overtones.

A biodynamic vineyard of St. Andrea; in the background, the limestoney Nagy-Eged, Eger’s true grand cru.

The region faces the stylistic issue of whether to make whites and reds in a more Mediterranean of Central European style; whether the reference should be Viognier and Grenache or rather Chianti and Mâcon. I don’t mind a bit of this stylistic dualism. The former direction seems to have the upper hand at the moment, and the wines of Gróf Buttler, Ferenc Csutorás, Csaba Demeter or the more ambitious white bottlings of Lajos Gál have more than a whiff of the Rhône to them. The rich, broad, puréed black fruits register of the red wines is positively Grenache-like, and white wines with their 14–15% alcohol, low acid and herby aromas resemble Marsanne or Roussanne (and it’s no coincidence Viognier is doing quite well, whether in varietal bottlings or as an ingredient in St. Andrea’s Örökké and Tibi Gál’s Glória). Hot vintages such as 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009 are surely encouraging this direction, and it would be unfair to say it cannot yield very good wines.

Yet my impression is that the more distinctive, terroir-driven and ageworthy wines are coming from the other side of the equation. It’s interesting that with no apparent handicap for ripe fruit flavours, St. Andrea’s Pinot Noirs can be 12.5% not 14.5%, and Tibor Gál’s various Pinots can reverberate with the sappy crisp cherry freshness that is almost Beaujolaisian in style. Other wines to look for if you like earthy, savoury, tannic, crisp red wines include those of Tamás Pók and Lajos Gál (the best of which was the Egri Bikavér Pajados 2007). Despite the uncertain economic climate and the sometimes vitriolic fraternal fights between vintners, Eger is surely showing signs of energy and progress.

Eger is waiting for a new lease of life.

Disclaimer

Accomodation during my stay in Eger is provided by the Eger Winemakers’ Guild. Meals and all wines mentioned above provided by the producers.

The Hungarian disease

(Some) expensive Hungarian red wines are a disaster.

Alto Adige tasting

72 good wines.