Iconic – Györgykovács Sárgamuskotály-Tramini 2016

For a short and rather general progress report on the Györgykovács estate please check my previous post. In a nutshell: Imre Györgykovács has taken the first steps towards retirement. Which makes his wines more precious in every possible sense.

If I look back over the years I think it was the gewürztraminer in the tiny Györgykovács range that hit the peaks the most consistently. However I have never tasted his muscat lunel and though one of the greatest wines I have ever had was a sweet muscat by the elusive Tokaj winery, Alana, I was a bit weary when I saw that the two aromatic varieties of the winery were blended for the sake of  convenience. I shouldn’t have. This is just as brilliant as the Györgykovács Traminis used to be.

More often than not tasting a Györgykovács wine is a momentous occasion. This one was no exception. It just draws you in with its layer upon layer of complexity and the by now familiar individuality. I don’t know about the size of the muscat lunel portion in the blend but overall the wine is clearly dominated by the traminer.

An evocative, complex, constantly changing nose. Faultless balance, saline, honeyed aromas underpinned by flinty notes and the mineral taste of spring water. Lovely, unmasked acidity, joined by some tannic sensation. The finish is dry and long. It’s a wine that lingers long in your memory. Somehow it makes you think a wine like this could only come from Somló and from a minuscule estate.

7-8 points. It’s not cheap but why should it be?