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Latest Releases from Zoltán Demeter, by Cozzi & Boffa

One of the most exciting discoveries I have made during 2011 is without a doubt the wines of Hungary, largely experienced through the wines of Winedoctor sponsor Cozzi & Boffa. My early experiences with Hungarian wine were probably not unique. Having grown up in a family with no interest in wine, I do recall the occasional bottle of the unusually named Bull's Blood appearing from time to time, no doubt to give us all a break from the Blue Nun and the Black Tower, those atrocious sugar-sweet German brands which graced many a British dining table during the 1970s and 1980s. In other words, other than a more-recently developed knowledge of the wines of Tokaj, Hungary never seemed like anything other than a source of simple branded wine, intended for unadventurous souls who may find names such as Wehlener Sonnenuhr or indeed Egri Bikavér disconcerting.

Of course, this is not true. There are clearly many superb wines coming out of Hungary, and I know this because I have tasted many of them this year, largely thanks to the efforts of UK merchant Cozzi & Boffa. Wines both white and red have impressed, and in the case of the former one estate really stands out and that is Zoltán Demeter. Zoltán trained in Budapest and the USA, gaining further experience in France and the UK, before returning to his native Hungary. He started off working for a number of leading Tokaji estates, but then struck out on his own, building up a 7-hectare portfolio in the process, with a focus on small plots of the local Furmint and Hárslevelü varieties. His wines all highlight individual vineyards and regions of Tokaj, including Mád, Bodrogkeresztúr and Sátoraljaújehly, and come in limited runs of individually numbered bottles. They have been a thrill to taste, and these most recent releases were no exception, especially the 2009 and 2008 Veres Furmint and the 2010 Szerelmi Hárslevelü cuvées, all delicious wines.

The wines tasted here are all imported into the UK by Cozzi & Boffa who provided these samples for tasting. I have included the Cozzi & Boffa prices below where available (where marked N/A the wines are not currently listed), as well as links through to Wine Searcher. In order to ensure transparency I must make clear that at the time of posting these notes Cozzi & Boffa is a Winedoctor sponsor. (15/12/11)

Zoltán Demeter - Tasting Notes

Tasted in December 2011. Click for stockists.

Zoltán Demeter Tokaji Veres Furmint 2008: Bottle number 113 of 504. This doesn't take long to open up, the pale golden wine throwing off scents of blended citrus and stone fruit, giving the wine the richness of sweet pears and apples, ripe and yet bright with fresh, acidic, citrusy overtones. It is a glorious combination, and when the little notes of smoky minerality and mildly matchsticky reduction comes in then you know you have something serious rather than merely fruity. The palate is pithy and firm, with plenty of bright and vibrant fruit draped over the top. The minerality suspected on the nose shows through here, with a firm and punchy style to it, the pithy fruit taking on a grapefruit pungency although the fruit flavours themselves remain riper and more generous than this, showing a tropical fruit character with time. A really biting, grippy, substantial wine here, with fabulous purity and expression. Alcohol 13%. 17.5/20 (£34)

Zoltán Demeter Tokaji Veres Furmint 2009: Bottle number 144 of 1626. This starts off with a pure and concentrated fruit feel on the nose, bright and lifted, with citrus purity, although with a little more air it soon shifts into more orchard fruit characteristics, pear skin and green apples, with a sherbetty sprinkling. The palate has a full, broad attack, full of exuberant fruit with a structured, grippy seam running through underneath the fruit of the wine, and only really coming out to show its true colours in the finish of the wine. It adds a very welcome note of grip and substance to the length of the wine. Structured, vibrant, with great substance and a sharp backbone. Really attractive. Beautiful wine, not quite the depth of the 2008 perhaps, but still delightful. Alcohol 13.5%. 17/20 (£34)

Zoltán Demeter Tokaji Lapis Furmint 2009: Bottle number 45 out of 2173. This wine has quite a solid style on the nose, with polished citrus fruits, dense although with a firm and sherbetty feel to the fruit. It also has a slightly warm, spirity feel. The same character comes through on the palate, with a more robust feel here than in the other cuvées, perhaps in part due to the slightly higher concentration of alcohol here. There is a good pithy bitterness to the fruit as well, giving a better structure through the midpalate than I would have suspected from the start, and there is a real substance to the finish. A wine that is long, incisive, but full and textured. Alcohol 14%. 16/20 (£36)

Zoltán Demeter Tokaji Boda Furmint 2008: Bottle number 276 out of 492. This wine has a very similar feel to other from Zoltán Demeter, but here there is perhaps a slightly lighter character to it, more lifted and elegant, with a fresher and more light-footed feel. The nose is mineral and with a gentle concentration of stone fruits, pears and tinges of richer quince, with a soft and ready feel to it. The palate is as elegant and as finely composed as the aromatic profile suggests, with a gentle texture nicely cut through by appropriate acidity. There is also a more gentle presence of alcohol here than in some wines, as it is just 12%. 16.5/20 (£32)

Zoltán Demeter Szerelmi Hárslevelü 2009: Bottle number 368 of 2133. A mid-gold hue. Beautifully expressive and aromatic, although with a very solid feel to the composition of the wine. The fruit has an intense, tropical fruit character, with pineapple the most prominent aroma. After that comes some structured, pithy, fruit skin elements. Aromas of pear skin, although more the bitter grip rather than the fruit flavour, and with that more citrus elements, orange pith. This solid feel that is first apparent comes through on the palate, which has dense fruit and solid, warm, structure. I thought at first there might be an element of skin contact here, but the alcohol is on the high side, and although there is no heat here this certainly contributes to the very solid feel of the wine. All the same I really like this; the pithy and mildly bitter phenolic character giving plenty of interest. Alcohol 15%. 16.5/20 (£36)

Zoltán Demeter Szerelmi Hárslevelü 2010: Bottle number 378 of 379. Very primary fruit character here, in this wine which is a little younger than the others in this line up. Pear fruit, scented and perfumed, with a feminine aromatic allure suggestive of exotic tropical fruits. There are touches of lychee and lemon, with an emergent grip not clearly evident at first, increasingly so with a little time in the glass. The palate seems full and fleshy, and quite soft at the very beginning, but there is more grip through the middle. And with a little time it reveals a more dense structure, showing a very firm, fruit-skin solidity, an plenty of pithy substance. There is a spice to it, nutmeg and pepper, and a sappy character. Subtle in its finish, the length fades away slowly. Very fine potential here. Although rather young, I prefer this to the more alcoholic 2009. Alcohol 12.5%. 17/20 (Price N/A)