Hungarian Wines Tour Day 3: Villány, Cab Franc, & More!
We left the A. Gere vineyards on day 3 of our Hungarian wines tour with Hungarianwines.eu and headed to their winery for a walk around tasting of Villány’s 12 best Cabernet Franc wines.
Villány and Cabernet Franc
While Villány’s historically most important grape is Portugieser, it is most renowned for Cabernet Franc. Here in what is called the ‘devil’s punch bowl’ due to the intense heat the region receives, Cabernet Franc ripens both well and predictably every year. Plush, velvety tannins, ripe fruit flavors, and those lovely earthy and spicy notes that make Cab Franc stand out are on full display in Villányi Franc.
PDO Villány wines have three quality levels:
- Classic: no ageing requirements
- Premium: must be oak aged for at least one year (or six months for Kadarka or Portugieser)
- Super Premium: must be aged for two years minimum, one in oak, and must but 100% Cabernet Franc
In 2014, producers here banded together to better promote their Cab Franc. As a result, they now hold an annual conference in November called Franc&Franc. Producers, journalists, and other wine industry professionals gather to taste the new wines. Every year they also invite guests from other Cab Franc regions from around the world.
If you’re interested in Villányi Franc, check out these articles from Taste Hungary: Cabernet Franc, the Unsung Hero and Franc Over Sauvignon, Hungary’s Love Affair with the Cabernets.
Bock Pince
Of the 12 wines we tried at the walk around tasting, the one that stood out most in my mind was from Bock Pince. The Bock family left Germany in the 18th century to settle in Hungary. They’ve been involved in viticulture and winemaking in the Villány since 1850. Their family estate has grown some since then! They cultivate 80 hectares of their own and work an additional 70 contracted hectares. Like Villány generally, the grow mostly black grapes including: Kékfrankos, Portugieser, Kadarka, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and of course, Cabernet Franc. They also grow some white grapes such as: Sauvignon Blanc, Hárslevelű, Olaszrizling, and Chardonnay.
We tried the Bock Pince Cabernet Franc 2015 at this tasting. Aged for 12 months in large oak barrels and then (by the time we opened it) and additional five years in the bottle. This wine was…wowza. Wow wow wow. Elegant and rich with complex aromas. At first whiff it was black fruits and black olive. Then cedar wood, cigar box, brown spices, and pepper. Big, tannic, and muscular on the palate with intense blackberry, black cherry, olive, spice, and tobacco. Long finish. Not gonna lie. I went back for more.
Ruppert Borház
Another new Cab Franc favorite came from Ruppert Borház. Established in 2002, this 27-hectare estate, it won’t surprise you to learn, grows mostly black grapes. The Cabernet Franc we tried from them comes from their south-facing Diósviszló vineyard. The wine fermented in open vats and aged partly in new, and partly in used, 225-litre Hungarian and French oak barrels, for 18 months.
Dark red fruits, baking spice, and vanilla on the nose. A touch of green bell pepper in there but I was not mad at it. I do not mind green pepper in my Cab Franc, I think it gives it an edginess. Structured tannins carried intense blackberry and bramble fruit flavors with a spicy nutmeg-clove finish.
Rizcu Tamás
Rizcu Tamás is located on Akasztófa dűlő in Siklós in the middle of the famous Villány wine region. A family estate, the winery grows Kékfrankos, Merlot, Caberent Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Riesling. The family is committed to environmentally friendly viticulture and make wines using natural, vegan components.
For this tasting, they offered their 2017 Super Premium Cabernet Franc which aged for 18 months in 225 litre medium-toasted Hungarian, French, and American barrels. Siklós has a slightly cooler climate than Villány giving the Cab Franc grown here a different profile. For me, I think this translated to a great deal more fruit on the nose than I noticed with some of the other Cab Francs preset. Raspberry, blueberry, and damson plum aromas filled the glass along with rich chocolate, vanilla and baking spices. The flavor profile was pronounced, incorporating a lot of the flavors sensed on the nose. Some very nice acidity kept all those fruit flavors fresh with plush tannins towards the front added coffee, chocolate, and spice
Csányi Pincészet
Several of us in the group were staying at the Csányi Pincészet guesthouse so it was an especial pleasure to see one of their wines, bottled as Teleki Winery, at this showcase. Originally founded under the name ‘Teleki’ in 1881 by one of the most famous viticulturists of Hungary, Zsigmond Teleki, the winery has since been purchased and renamed Csányi Pincészet. But the Teleki labels remain.
The largest winery in Villány, it produces 2 million bottles annually and boasts the longest cellar labyrinth in the region. The winery has vineyards on not only the legendary Kopár hill, but also in Ördögárok, Csillagvölgy, and Jammertal. Their impressive 500 hectares are dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon, Kékfrankos, Blauburger, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Portugieser, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Irsai Olivér, Zenit, Olaszrizling, and Hárslevelű.
The Teleki Villányi Cabernet Franc, 2018 we tried showed red bramble fruits, pine needle, and spice in the nose. Round, fulsome tannins carried ripe red berry and plum flavors sprinkled with clove and pepper.
Agancsos Pincészet
Another of the wines that really stuck in my mind came from Agancsos Pincészet. Possibly because I got to dust off my German to speak to the owner and winemaker Zoltán Kovács, but the wine was good too! A small family winery founded in 1990, the winery’s name Agancsos, which means “antlers” reflects the Kovács family’s love of nature and passion for hunting. My dad would totally get on with them. And small is a key word here! They farm only six hectares on which they cultivate Olaszrizling, Portugieser, Kékfrankos, Irsai Olivér, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Pinot Noir.
The Agancsos Pincészet Capitalis Cabernet Franc, 2017 spent 24 months of maturing in new oak barrels. The nose reminded me of a dark chocolate truffle with blackberry filling. On the palate, finely grained tannins filled the mouth with flavors of blackberry, brown spices, and vanilla with a rich chocolate finish. Yum.
A note about all the words for ‘winery’ in Hungarian. I learned from my friend Sebastian (who I believe won in TWO categories for this wine writing competition!) what all the various Hungarian words for winery really mean:
- Pince = cellar
- Pincészet = winery
- Borház = wine house
- Birtok = estate
- Borászat = vinery/winery
Hungarian WebWineWriting Competition Awards
After a quick costume change, we all headed to the Siklós Castle for an organized walk around tasting and the awards for the writing competition that brought us all together in the first place.
The walk around tasting featured wines from all over Hungary, not just from Villány. Several Hungarian producers from other countries (like Slovak Hungarians) were also represented. And while I LOOOOVE me some Hungarian wine, I will fully admit that I spent a long time at the Cava table! The castle’s event also included a performance with a unique instrument. A Borgona, or wine organ. Some genius made a small pipe organ using wine bottles (filled I think they said with olive oil) in place of pipes.
At the awards ceremony I was able to meet the event’s final sponsors, representatives from the Hungarian Agricultural Marketing Center. I want to thank all the sponsors who funded this amazing tour and provided the gifts we received at the ceremony. Thank you also to all the judges who liked my article! And thank you to everyone who voted for me!
Most of all, I must absolutely say a big THANK YOU to Ágnes Németh from Hungarian Wines. I was so privileged to take part in this incredible experience. What she does is nothing short of amazing and I look forward to competing again next year!