Coming Full Circle with Carpinus Tokaji Hárslevelű
I bought this Carpinus Tokaj Hárslevelű during my last trip to Budapest this June. In a way, this one bottle brought the last year full circle for me. Last year, I participated in (and won! thanks to all you who voted) a wine writing competition organized by Hungarian Wines.EU. This year, during that trip in June, the organizer asked me if I would judge the entries for this summer’s competition. My task, to judge the submissions in the “Hárslevelű – More Than “The Other” Grape” category.
Owned by Edit and Istaván Bai, Carpinus Winery sits in Hungary’s famed Tokaj region. Here the Bais cultivate their grapes with environmentally friendly practices to allow the attributes of their seven vineyards to shine. Their vineyards, Gyertyános, Lapis, Deák, Budaházy, Poklos, Veresek, and Dereszla are all classed first and second growths according to the historical Tokaj classification system. Continuing the values established in this storied region and living up to those classifications is very important to Edit and István.
Carpinus Tokaji Hárslevelű, 2018
I felt initially concerned about this because the screwcap wouldn’t unscrew! Eventually I had to pull off the entire capsule, cap and all. Good thing I’m a full bottle girl because that was not going back on!
But, onto the wine! The Hárslevelű for this wine comes from Carpinus’s Gyertyános winery which is planted 75% to Furmint and 25% to Hárslevelű in varied soils including heavy lithosol, clay with high bentonite content, red nyirok clay, brown earth, easily fragmented kaolin, illite, red and yellow dacite tuff, and red and blue andesite.
Made from 100% Hárslevelű, the wine shone a brilliant, pale lemon shot through with green like a streaky unripe lemon. Aromatic with aromas of pine nut, flowers, and fresh hay with a savory tinge. The palate – yummy. Not a word I use often for wine but very much warranted! Jasmine, pomelo, peach, and peach blossom joined the pine nut and hay finishing with a hint of saltiness.
Mouthwatering acidity, silky, medium-bodied, with 13% abv. Gorgeous. Definitely a wine to look out for!