Though not quite as convincing as the recently tasted Demeter Zoltán Furmint, to my mind this is still another obvious sign that Tokaj Furmint is marching to a new beat. Hopefully, the days of cumbersome, unapproachable, tough as nail Furmints are over.
László Szilágyi (a.k.a. Mr. Gizella) is probably the best loved Tokaj winemaker. My enthusiasm for his wines was curbed by the hefty amount of oak in previous vintages and maybe it wasn’t just me who disliked this heavy-handed approach. Anyway, in this vintage the Furmint received only 10% wood ageing. To this palate it feels definitely more than that but still much less than before. Another momentous decision was to blend all the lots that were originally destined for single vineyard bottlings (I’m not sure why).
Right after opening it felt pleasant and polished but simple and short. Even the allegedly minimal oak seemed to overwhelm the rather subdued aromas. On Day 2 and especially on Day 3 it blossomed into something more nuanced and by the time we got to the last glass I felt sad to see it go. I have also learnt that this is one of those whites which benefits from serving at a higher than usual temperature, around 12-13 ˚C.
It opens with an attractive nose displaying notes of nutmeg, hazelnuts, quince, pears and orange zest. The rounded palate shows ample fruit, well judged balance – the residual sugar is 4.5 g/l – and smooth textures with some tannic grip towards the finish. Length is just average and there is a touch of bitterness that some may find disturbing. Overall, it’s a surprisingly delicious and easy to like Furmint, but it remains to be seen whether with ageing it can develop more depth and complexity.
5-6 points; €15
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