It’s time for you, lovely wine-loving FUNZINE readers to know about more than Tokaj and aszú. The Winebar has launched a new wine tasting event series that aims to draw attention to top-notch Hungarian wineries we should definitely know more about. First up, the Scheller Winery from Balaton Uplands presented their vinos from the slopes of Áldozó Hill and Táltoshegy. Owner, Dr. Sándor Tóth, and his daughter, Virág, shared their wine-wisdom and insiders’ stories about their great nectar. Naturally, FUNZINE was there to bring you all the details… hic!
The Scheller Estate – covering 33 hectares – makes its outstanding wines preserving local and family traditions going back a couple of centuries. However, sampling their divine vinos, we think they’ve found the perfect combination of modern technology and tradition. Well, let’s raise our glasses to Scheller wines, hopefully with one of them in there!
During the tasting, we sampled ten different vintages and types, with Sanyi bácsi and Virág explaining the environment, the procedures, and the outcomes. Most were made of Green Veltliner (‘Zöld Veltelini’ if you want to look for the bottles), a type of grape that’s said to be difficult to deal with in Hungary. (Maybe that’s why our wine experts agreed that it’s the ‘Cinderella’ of Hungarian wine-makers.) Still, Áldozó Hill, a picturesque place in the Kál region of Balaton Uplands, seems to have the soil ideal for such vineyards: it’s rich in volcanic detritus, minerals and has a very special microclimate that produces amazing grapes on the southern slope of the hill. Sanyi bácsi is a devout supporter of late harvest and long aging processes (3-4 years of aging for white wines is quite unusual in Hungary), which usually makes his hand-crafted wines full of flavors and aromas.
With Green Veltliners, it’s hard to preserve the fruity flavors, but the Scheller Green Veltliner, 2003 seems to have managed, due to the late harvest, the low wine load and essentially, this family’s diligence in wine-making. According to the wine experts, “the acids are in perfect harmony, they ‘play’ with each other rather than being harmful to your taste buds”. The aroma was full and spicy, due to the long ageing process. It was interesting to taste later vintages of the same vine, ones from 2006 and 2007, neither of them being officially ready. Acids were still ‘in motion’, however they already had the same full flavor as the 2003 vintage did; promising. As I said before, Sanyi bácsi always waits it out.
The crown of the wine night (aye, still to come) was the Scheller Golden Veltliner, 2003. Sweet mint and fruity flavors dominated the golden nectar, nicely gliding down the wall of the glasses, as written in the Bible of Wine. Plus the oh-so-typical (of Sanyi bácsi’s vinos) taste of minerals.
Besides the Green Veltliners, we were honored to taste Áldozó Hill Chardonnay, 2003 with its spicy aroma, Táltoshegyi Resiling, 2006, a wine of color and masculinity, an Áldozó Hill Zenit, 2006 (a Hungarian hybrid vine), a to-be five-star wine and an Áldozó Hill Zenit, 2003, with a perfect balance of body, taste and aroma.
One thing is for sure, Scheller vinos deserve to be on the Wine Hollywood Boulevard of Hungary. Sanyi bácsi and Virág have all my respect and admiration. Veni, vidi; and they won, this time, my heart.