Dressed in Oak – Etyeki Kúria Kékfrankos 2015

A regional hybrid: harvested in Sopron, vinified in Etyek. Sounds risky but the wine is faultless. Was named the best Hungarian kékfrankos (blaufränkisch) at some domestic wine competiton and won bronze at Decanter World Wine Awards scoring 88 points. 

If you believe that fine wine married to fine oak guarantees success then you should invest in this wine. There aren’t too many kékfrankoses around that were aged in barrels of such quality. Alas, every rose has its thorn: you can hardly find the fruit under the overlay of nutmeg, dark chocolate and cloves. The palate clearly demonstrates the excellence of the grapes – this is a wine with good balance, lively, vibrant acidity, well-defined cherry, sour cherry and plum notes, chalky tannins and a fairly persistent, spicy finish. In terms of evolution it’s still stuck on the starting line and considering that it’s already 3 years of age might indicate a long life ahead. But for the present it means the linearity of youth with no signs of complexity yet.

5-6 points. Not cheap, nor dear at 14 euros.