Top Selection visit to Hungary & Slovakia 2011
On arrival in the afternoon, Akos gave his group a tour around the beautiful city of Budapest, and then headed to his mother’s house for dinner. Traditionally, this involves being fed until the point of expiry, and this evening was to be no different.
On Monday morning the group drove to Slovakia and to Château Béla to taste Egon Muller’s fantastic Riesling. Unsurprisingly, it went down a storm but more of a surprise was an amazing Cabernet Sauvignon Eiswein!
From there the trip back to Hungary and the great Istvan Szepsy. The greatest winemaker in central Europe is a star and introduced everyone to his magnificent range of wines, from the Furmint Estate 2008 to the Aszu 2005. People in the wine trade have a perception of many of the great wine regions of the world, but not a lot have been lucky enough to visit Tokaj, so this was a valuable visit.
The following morning, before going to the airport, the group visited the spectacular winery of Bolyki in the Eger. It is built into the cliff face of a quarry, and is truly unique. Janos Bolyki, owner and winemaker, is a character indeed.
On top of that he produces the outstanding Egri Bikaver (Bull’s Blood). This is definitely a Top Selection success story.
Hugues Lepin, Akos, Julien Moulin, Akos Hervai, Miroslav Petrech
Left: Istvan Szepsy; Right: Bolyki Winery
Left: Janos Bolyki; Right: Pubi, Istvan Szepsy, Mark Scholfield