Nick Dobson Wines Hungary

Hungary

Hungary's climate is odeal for growing vines; it is esentially a continental climate, with hot summers, long mild autumns, and cold winters, with temperature extremes moderated by the influence of the Carpatheans. Annual rainfall is around 5-600mm depending on the region. Wine has been made in Hungary since antiquity, and the Romans made use of the excellent conditions and planted vines in what is today Transdanubia. After the adoption of Christianity, wine was made by many monasteries and Hungary became one of the most important wine producers in Central Europe in the Middle Ages. In modern times, Phylloxera devastated vineyards and after WW1 the economy was unable to support the industry very well. Collectivisation during communist times post-WW2 drove production quantities up, but very muchg at the expense of quality. It is only now, in the early years of the 21st century, that we are beginning to see the renaissance of Hungary as a wine producing country. Our initial range is small, but contains some crackiong good wines. Our selections are very much quality-oriented. Prices are slightly lower than, for example, neighbouring Austria.

Fehérburgundi 2008 Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron
Ref: 3600002

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Fehérburgundi is the Hungarian name for Pinot Blanc. This wine is from a single vineyard called Frettner, in the town of Balf in the Sopron winegrowing region, with mineral-slate and brown forest soils. The vines are aged on average 10 years, and are grown at a density of 5400 vines/ha, giving 30 hl/ha. The harvest took place on September 12, 2008. The grapes were pressed immediately, and fermentation with natural yeasts took place in stainless tanks, followed by 6 months maturation also in stainless.

On the nose there are aromas of fresh apple and pear, with some almond notes. On the palate there is plenty of fresh fruit with a creamy texture and good structure. Good length, with fine fruit on the finish. 12.0% ABV. Bottled April 2009. Drink at 10-12°C with white meats and freshwater fish, or just on its own.

Price: £12.35 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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Fehérburgundi 2008 Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron

Kékfrankos 2007 Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron
Ref: 3600000

* £

Kékfrankos is the Hungarian name for Blaufränkisch. This classic wine from Weninger is made from grapes grown in the Spern Steiner vineyard. The vines are aged on average 44 years, with 3300 vines/ha, with a maximum yield of 1kg per vine. Alcoholic fermentation uses wild yeasts, and takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged for 9 months - 2/3 in oak, and 1/3 in concrete tanks, before the final assemblage. Bottled August 2008.

A fruity spicy nose, with sour cherry and plum jam flavours dominant on the palate. There's a creamy texture, and lots of fruit, with good spice. Good structure, ripe tannins, long plummy finish. Excellent match for red meat dishes. Serving temperature 16-17°C. Drink from now through to 2013. ABV 12.5%.

Price: £11.50 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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Kékfrankos 2007 Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron

Kékfrankos Selection 2005 Spern Steiner Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron
Ref: 3600001

Kékfrankos is the Hungarian name for Blaufränkisch. This premium wine from Weninger is made from grapes grown in the Spern Steiner vineyard. The vines are aged on average 44 years, with 3300 vines/ha, and low yields of 21 hectolitres/hectare. Alcoholic fermentation uses wild yeasts, with full malolactic fermentation, and the wine is aged for 16 months in small barriques.

An intensely fruity spicy nose, with chocolate and sour cherry flavours dominant on the palate. There's a creamy texture and meaty structure, with ripe tannins and good acid backbone. Masses of fruit, and good minerality. Huge length, with spicy finish. Excellent match for peppered steak. Ideal serving temperature 18-19°C. Drink from now through to 2015. ABV 13.5%.

Price: £23.65 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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Pinot Noir (Kékburgundi) 2005 Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron
Ref: 3600003

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Kékburgundi is the Hungarian name for Pinot Noir. This wine is from a single vineyard called Frettner, in the town of Balf in the Sopron winegrowing region, with mineral-slate and Ramann brown forest soils. The vines are aged on average 7 years, and are grown at a density of 5500 vines/ha, giving 35 hl/ha. The harvest took place on September 28, 2005. The grapes were pressed immediately, and fermentation with natural yeasts took place in stainless tanks, followed by full malolactic fermentation and 14 months maturation in barriques.

A pale red, with fruit and hazlenuts on the nose. The palate is fruity, with redcurrant and cherry flavours. Good length, with cherries on the finish. 12.5% ABV. Bottled December 2006. Drink now to 2012. Serving temperature 18-20°C; goes well with red and white meat dishes.

Price: £12.35 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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Pinot Noir (Kékburgundi) 2005 Franz Weninger, Balf, Sopron

Weninger-Gere and Attila Gere, Villany

Back in 1992, shortly after the fall of communism, Franz Weninger began collaborating with Attila Gere, a Hungarian wine producer in Villány in Southern Hungary. Franz brought technical know-how enabling Gere to obtain the best possible resullts from his land. The Weninger and Gere winery was born, and its wines were immediately a great success. Villány is the southernmost wine region in Hungary, situated near the Croatian border and it's climate is rather warmer than Burgenland's. The wines are deep, dark and powerful. They have become extremely sought after in Hungary, and only a small amount is exported. Lucky you - we have some!

Cuvée Phoenix 2006 Weninger-Gere, Villány
Ref: 3610000

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Cuvée Phoenix is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Kékfrankos, and Portugieser. The grapes are carefully selected, and hand-harvested into small bins. Quality control steps employed include cluster-selection, destemming, and and a strict yield limit of 1 kg/vine). Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless and mainly new Hungarian, French and American oak barrels, and lasts 2-3 weeks. Following pressing, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, and individual wines mature for 14-18 months in oak before the assemblage is made. The wine is bottled without filtration and undergoes some further bottle ageing.

The wine is a deep red color, with aromas of blackberry and plums. The palate has a smoky character, with a smooth mouthfeel, elegant tannins, and just the slightest hint of sweetness. Very long finish. Very impressive wine.
ABV 13.2%. Serve around 16 deg C with red meats and savoury dishes.

Price: £19.95 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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Cuvée Phoenix 2006 Weninger-Gere, Villány

Cabernet Franc 2006 Weninger-Gere, Villány
Ref: 3610001

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100% Cabernet Franc, matured for 15 months in new oak barrels. Deep dark ruby color, intense, spicy bouquet. Intense fruit and spice on the palate, a hint of sweetness. Aged for 18 months in small, new barrels. It has youthful tannins, will improve with some bottle age, to show at its best after 2-3 years in bottle, around 2010-11.

Price: £33.80 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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Cabernet Franc 2006 Weninger-Gere, Villány

Kopár 2006 Attila Gere, Villány
Ref: 3610002

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This is the emblematic wine of the Gere winery. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, it is only made in the best years with selected grapes from the premium slopes of Villány (Kopár, Csillagvölgy, and Konkoly). It is aged for 16-20 months in new Hungarian oak barrels.

Gere's own description of the 2006 vintage:-

This is the 2006 vintage of the finest wine produced by our winery. The vegetation period in 2006 turned out to be rather exciting: winter was moderate while spring was changing, cool and rainy. Blooming started later, and nature prevented the quantity of expectable grape-crops. However, this 1-2 weeks delay was compensated by a sudden and rather hot summer. Enough and regular rain during the summer and the beautiful autumn enabled us to harvest healthy, mature and top-quality grapes. The microclimatic attributes and the intensive temperature fluctuation at the end of the vegetation period seemed to affect significantly the outcome and finally this unique, exciting and rich-flavoured wine could come into existence. 2006 vintage of Kopár was a turning-point in the career of the wine. This is our first Kopár setting up when we broke with the traditional Bordeauxi composition (40% Cabernet Savignon, 40% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc) and put the emphasis onto Cabernet Franc and Merlot, two important species of the local wine-growing region. Due to our experience, these two varieties are exceptionally able to bear peculiar their quality year by year. We had the chance to try the result of their marriage in 2004 and 2005 vintages (Finesse, Cabernet Franc & Merlot Selection). On the basis of our experience, which had frequently been proved by our Kopár Club wine tastings, we decided that the two basic varieties that would determine the characteristics of our top-wines in the future are Franc and Merlot. The new composition of the 2006 Kopár vintage is 52% Cabernet Franc, 46% Merlot and only 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. A change was made in the fermentation of the wines as well, to highlight the fruity character we supplemented the new small barrel fermentation with the usage of big (20-25-51 hectolitre) oak casks that added up to the 40% of the total quantity.

Price: £38.95 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

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