Justin Keay : Bringing single vineyard and sparkling Furmint into focus (THE BUYER – 02/03/2022)
The Buyer
More than any other grape variety, Furmint is on a journey, argues Justin Keay. With an amazing ability to reflect terroir, Furmint is breaking out of its Tokaj home in Hungary and spreading to other regions with single vineyard wines and dry varieties, in particular, reflecting these regional differences… Keay attends the fourth Furmint February tasting in London, talks to the 38 producers in attendance, and lists his Top 10 wines from the event – five sparkling and five still single vineyard wines.
Furmint is not a particularly aromatic variety – especially in Tokaj – and often shows characteristics of apple, pear and quince. However it can have a bracing and almost fiery acidity and it is versatile. According to Gilby, it also has an amazing ability to reflect terroir, particularly in Hungary’s volcanic soil, which was why she highlighted single vineyard wines at her London Masterclass.
Fuleky Winery, Mestervolgy, 2018 (Tokaji)
At 13.5% this was one of the stronger wines shown at the masterclass, but also one of the more intriguing with great length and complexity, good fruit/acidity balance and some smokiness on the palate. Recommended. (Amathus Drinks)
„Our Mestervölgy 2018 Single Vineyard was ranked as best still wine of the event.”
Caroline Gilby MW : Furmint : the journey continues (DECANTER – 11/02/2022)
Decanter
„This versatile and characteristically Hungarian white grape has already found great favour among restaurant wine buyers – seek out its food-friendly charms to find out why…
The fabulous grape that is Furmint is gaining more and more fans outside its homeland in northeastern Hungary. It can deliver appealing wines in just about every style you can think of. From juicy, crisp deliciousness-in-a-glass at its entry level – sometimes blended with a little Hárslevelű in this category, as in Füleky’s Fülöp, The Phenomenon…”
