English news

Decanter, 2011 november – LONDON

Malatinszky

Villány

Csaba Malatinszky’s veins must run with Cabernet Franc. He is obsessive about tending his vines and says his 30 hectares, farmed organically in Villány and Siklos since 2009, are as much as he’d ever want to own as that’ll he can manage himself without delegating. He was Hungary’s leading sommelier before turning to winemaking and his focus is balanced, complex reds, notably Cabernet Franc, which suits the Villány terroir so well. The flagship, unfiltered Kúria range always impresses, especially Cab Franc and Kövesföld (a single vineyard Bordeux blend), while his aromatic Serena white and refined Chardonnay are well worth trying.

07 January 2011 – Polish Wine Guide

The wines of Csaba Malatinszky

My critical article about expensive Hungarian red wines caused quite a stir in Hungary (you can read an animated discussion here) and has led to a lot of communication with winemakers from different regions, who took the time to tell me on e-mail how deeply wrong I was, or to offer me samples of wines to taste.

In the latter group, I was particularly pleased to be contacted by Csaba Malatinszky from Villány in Hungary’s deep south. Both because Mr. Malatinszky is one of the major figures of this important wine region, and because I have somehow never made up my mind about his production. Tasting those wines regularly since 2003, I have reached the rather inconclusive conclusion that they are: 1) representative for modern Villány winemaking in being very concentrated, very ripe and quite oaky; 2) but certainly not as exasperated as those wines I criticised in my original article; for all their XL size and omnipresent oak, I’ve always perceived Malatinszky wines to have some kind of balance; and 3) interestingly at two recent tastings (Warsaw Oct 2009 and Pannon Bormustra Jun 2010) I have preferred the lighter red Tenkes to the more ambitious red wines, because it was less oaky and creamy while showing the same high quality of fruit.

So it was with curiosity and delight that I unpacked 6 bottles from the top Malatinszky Kúria range. Here are summarised tasting notes followed by a general comment.

This article is cross-posted in Hungarian @ A Művelt Alkoholista.

Cabernet Franc 2007 14% alc., 1.7g residual sugar, 5.3g acids. (I’ve asked Mr. Malatinszky for these details after tasting to have a bit of technical support for my impressions). An extractive, almost soupy modern Bordeaux style with reasonably good ripeness and sweetness of fruit. Voluminous and almost fat but there is good balance and the whole is not excessive. Young; not showing much varietal character at the moment. There are two layers to this wine: ripe fruit is underpinned by savoury, meaty tannins. Compared to the 2006 CF (see below) this has more poise but less fruit (at this stage), which in this ripe modern style is a high price to pay, I thought. And so perhaps a blending partner would have improved this. Surprisingly, this wine held exceedingly well for no less than 10 days in the opened bottle.

Cabernet Franc 2006 14.5% 1.8g 5.3g. Showing both a bit riper and more evolved than the 2007, minor secondary and tertiary notes, coming a bit closer to Bordeaux where the 2007 smelled vaguely super-Tuscan. The herbaceous character of CF on palate is emphasised but there is also plenty of sweetness – I think too much, on verge of a residual sugar feeling. Perhaps this will harmonise: at this time it is not very drinkable, though the extract and ripeness essentially are not excessive. Holding less well in the opened bottle. (I’ve not decanted any of these wines, preferring to retaste over several days). A solid wine nonetheless.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 14% 1.4g 4.7g. Firmer on the nose than the CFs, mineral, not very fruity though there’s an underlying sweetness and ripeness. The first impression on the palate is excellent, full and broad, provided you like drying oak tannins and a dense gluey mouthfeel. This needs a minimum of 4–5 years in bottle to digest the oak and tannins; at present it is overwhelming. This holds up well in the opened bottle though I never saw the fruit really come up. The tightest Malatinszky wine on this tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 14% 1.4g 4.8g. Logically for the 2006/2007 opposition chez Malatinszky this is riper and sweeter than the above wine, with notes of blackberries and forest fruits spread, together with a minor undercurrent of CS vegetality but clearly on the extreme of ripeness for this grape; we’re closer to Colchagua (or at least Maremma) than anything I know from Bordeaux. Yet there’s a fairly decent balance on the palate, and I thought the alcohol and extract were well integrated. The fruit remains blurred at this stage but it can be trusted to become more precise with bottle age. On subsequent days I had a problem with the alcohol, but the tightness and resistance to oxidation were actually impressive.

Merlot 2007 14% 1.9g 5.3g. A varietal nose in the ripe cherries, plums, fruit soup, with a bit of clayey earthiness. Not hot, but definitely rather sweet and fat. Sweet and medium long on palate, acidity is non-existent in perception, the tannins are melted and the texture is caressing rather than punching. Later I was fighting perceptively between fruit-spready superconcentration and actually a good expression of Merlot blackberries. Lots of oak. Wait and see.

Kövesföld 2007 14% 1.5g 4.9g. This blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Cabernet Franc from ‘grand cru’ vineyards (60% new oak). This comes closer to the 2007 Merlot above than any of the Cabernets, being sweet, dense and soft, though obviously a bit more minerality and lead-pencilly coolness to the bouquet. Oak vanilla and clotted cream texture are firmly there, however, and there’s objectively very little freshness. It’s in the long term that this wine shows its breed, becoming the most polished and deep of the six wines on day 2, intensely fruity, full-bodied, smooth-textured; the feeling of restrained power is evident. There’s a bit of extra dimension and stuffing to the other wines here, but it will take a lot of time to develop.

These are of course very young wines, and it would be unreasonable to uncork them anytime soon (I just hope the final consumer realises this). I clearly preferred 2007 to 2006 here, due to the bit of extra freshness in 2007, and 2006s coming dangerously close to flabby in texture (the alcohol is also a bit higher). How I would place Malatinszky in my mental panorama of Villány wines? These are obviously very modern wines, with plenty of concentration, extract, ripeness, oak and what else. If they are showing any finesse today it is only potentially, and I can’t say those Malatinszky Kúria bottlings are very drinkable. But they are showing a meticulous care in winemaking (there’s not all that much new oak, and the barrels are apparently 500 liters rather than 225) and although every wine I tasted was on the limit, I can’t say any is really too alcoholic or extractive; there’s no mad chasing after overripe flavours like in the Bock wine I described in my original article. It’s a very modern sexy plush-textured no-hard-edges balance, but it is balance.

Interestingly the references that were coming to mind, as mentioned, were modern Bordeaux, Tuscan Bordeaux blends, and the occasional New World Cabernet. It’s clear these wines are in a different league than some of the very provincial overblown blockbusters that abound in Villány and other regions of Hungary. I’d be happy to retaste these in five years’ time to see how they develop; for the time being I’m going to open my only bottle of the lighter 2007 Tenkes blend (Cab–Merlot) that is really a delicious food wine.

Disclosure

All wines provided as tasting samples by the producer.

By Wojciech Bońkowski (aka Nerval)

original article here

SPURRIER’S WORLD

BEST OLD WORLD WHITE

MALATINSZKY SERENA,

HUNGARY  2009

From the Villany-Siklos region in southern

Hungary, winemaker Csaba Malatinszky’s

blend of 55% Chardonnay, 40% Riesling

and 5% Muscat Ottonel can be enjoyed

effortlessly over a whole night’s, he says.

Silver pale, floral white fruits, layered and

refreshing, excitingly new.

Decanter, London december

Jancis Robinson tasting notes 2

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com. She also provides advice for Queen Elizabeth II’s wine cellar.

Malatinszky, Noblesse Cabernet Franc 2007 Villány Drink 2010-2015
Noblesse is Malatinszky’s middle range of wines. Fresh and fragrant with good life, and some real richness, on the palate. Lovely stuff.

Malatinszky, Kúria Cabernet Franc 2008 Villány Drink 2012-2017
Kúria is the top-level range of wines. Barrel sample. Very dark and bordeaux-like. Much denser and more tannic than the 2007.

Andreas Larsson – tasting notes

2001 Best Sommelier of Sweden
2002 Best Sommelier of Sweden
2003 Best Sommelier of Sweden
2004 Best Sommelier of Europe (Trophée Ruinart)
2005 Best Sommelier of Sweden
2005 Wine international Sommelier
2005 choosen by the Grand Jury Européen (GJE)
2007 Best Sommelier of the World

2008 Laureat of the Swedish Wine Academy Grand Prize

Andreas Larsson is currently the best Sommelier of the World

He is head Sommelier at Restaurant PM & Vänner in Sweden

He is today considered one of the leading wine tasters and travels all over the world where he´s hired as a consultant, lecturer, educator, speaker, wine taster.

He has a special affinity for the classical french vineyards, the new Bordeaux, the evolution in Spain, great Riesling, Sherry and Champagne.

AL started his career as a chef in 1990 after graduating from restaurant school and worked active as a chef for several years.

After some brief periods of combining the cuisine with playing Jazz music he decided to focus more on his interest for wine and the world of beverages.

After a lot of travelling and studies AL got his sommelier diploma at “Restaurangakademien” in Stockholm 1999. After that hs been amongst other things the head sommelier of the renowned Swedish Restaurant Bon Lloc * Guide Michelin.

Malatinszky Noblesse Chardonnay 2007

Generous nose, nutty with hints of hazelnuts, almonds and ripe citrus, distinct and dry palate, very rich with a bright freshness and mineral feeling, good lenght, a nice and individual wine with an approaching complexity.

Malatinszky Cabernet Franc 2006

Dark plum cherry and tobacco on the nose, still youthful and little closed, the palate is very concentrated with massive tannins, albeit not harsh nor aggressive, good structure and lenght, this still deserves some time but this is very fine material for ageing

Malatinszky Cabernoir 2006

Very elegant and Bordeaux – like nose with hints of dark berries, blackcurrant, sweet herbs and damp tobacco, the palate is rather medium-bodied but with an excellent density of fruit, well-rounded tannins, good lenght, nicely-made.

Jancis Robinson tasting notes

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com. She also provides advice for Queen Elizabeth II’s wine cellar.

Kúria Malatinszky, Unfiltered Cabernet Franc 2006 Villány-Siklós (Pannonia) 17.5 Drink
This winery was established in 1997 ‘near Croatia’. Malatinszky was the new Hungary’s first sommelier and wine merchant. The Villány people are wary of this wine because it is non traditional. Fermented in stainless steel and matured in French barriques. By a University of Bordeaux graduate. Very pure, light- to medium-bodied claret style – fragrant and extremely fine even if not perhaps the most obviously Hungarian of these reds. A great wine to serve blind? Quite minerally.
Imported by Mephisto Wine Merchants in the UK

Malatinszky, Csaba Cabernet Sauvignon unfiltered 2003 Villány-Siklós 17 Drink

Scented and quite exciting – very minerally. Great balance. Minerals and very tasty.

Tasting notes from Caroline Gilby

Hungarian wines from Villany-Siklos and Szekszard

” . . The first of the trio of wine makers to present their wines was Csaba Malatinszky. He has become a bit of a star and has built up quite a reputation, especially for the production of Cabernet Franc. Many questions were fired at him and he answered them very well, because most of us were intrigued why he chose to produce wines from this grape variety. A debate ensued amongst us. Was it Loire Valley or Bordeaux in style? Of course, it’s easy to make comparisons, especially with regards to ‘international’ style wines, but he responded with “this is what Villany has to offer”. In a blind tasting it would be very interesting to include some of these wines, because I’m convinced that there would be some surprising results. However, the message to me was clear. These wines are very well-made, have a natural feel, individuality and purity about them and are not trying to be anything else. We tasted 2007 “Noblesse” Siklosi Chardonnay, 2007 “Noblesse” Merlot Rose and 2006 “Kuria” Cabernet Franc. Overall, I was most impressed with the Chardonnay. Coming from the cooler climate of neighbouring Siklos, it displayed wonderful minerality, clean, elegant fruit, judicious use of oak and a fresh acidity. At £11.45 RRP, not only would I confidently put that up against most Chardonnays from around the world, even Burgundy, but also represented very good value for money.

I could really relate to Csaba, who followed a unique career path to becoming a wine maker. He began as head sommelier at Budapest’s world-famous Gundel Restaurant and became the first internationally certified exponent of the profession in Hungary. In 1993, he opened one of the city’s first specialist wine retail shops, “La Boutique des Vins”. His vinous knowledge, attention to detail, drive and passion are truly expressed in his wines. Moreover, they reflect his training in Bordeaux and he is proving that the Cabernet Franc and other ‘Bordelais cepages’ are uniquely the most suitable for this region. However, even though the wines are precise and well-defined, they also taste very natural. I feel this is because he was formerly a sommelier, believes that his wines deserve to drunk partnering food and to be enjoyed by fellow gourmets and epicureans. He certainly knows his target market and confidently displays his talents with style and charm. These are premium wines, but the challenge is there within this current situation.”

http://robertfoodwinetravel.blogspot.com/

Steven Spurrier – tasting note

s

Steven Spurrier (born 1941) is a British wine expert and former merchant in Paris, France, who has been described as a champion of French wine. Spurrier organized the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, which disspelled the myth of French wine superiority and promoted the expansion of wine production in the new world. He is also the founder of the Academie du Vin and Christie’s Wine Course, in addition to authoring and co-authoring several wine books.

Please find my tasting notes on these excellent wines. Best regards, Steven Spurrier.

TASTING OF MALATINSZKY WINES.

VILLANYI ROZE 2008.

Fine bright rose, fuller than those from Provence, more like a Tavel;  attractive fresh fruit aromas, light summer fruits, cherries and strawberries;  clear fruit flavours on the palate, quite firm fruit, with a touch of natural fruit tannins, fleshy yet firm, fine dry finish, more or a food rose than an aperitif, but good on its own due to its lively and refreshing finish, balance and length.  Carries its 13.5 alcohol well as natural acidity keeps it refreshing.

LE SOMMELIER TENKES 2006.

Bright carmine ruby, full but not heavy;  fine aromas of crushed red and black berry fruits, natural ripeness and again without any over-extraction, good fragrant fruit nose with natural lift;  good first impression on the palate, fine blend of Cabernet and Merlot, with the Cabernet dominating in terms of grip and firmness, the Merlot adding some middle suppleness, the finish showing a little greenness;  good now with meat dishes to absorb the natural tannins, or wait a year for them to be absorbed naturally, but not complex enough to keep for the long term; overall a good, bright, naturally tannic wine that carries the 14 alcohol well due to its freshness on the palate.

KURIA CABERNET FRANC 2006.

Very fine deep carmine colour, richer and deeper than Tenkes, but not overdone;  excellent Cabernet Franc nose of wild raspberries and a hint of violets, very pure, good depth of fruit;  very good fleshy red/black fruit flavours, with suavity and a lightly velvety texture and lifted fruit finish; a wine of great purity and polish, fine vineyard origin, ripeness and depth of fruit and natural acidity and tannins, all in balance and almost “taffeta-like” considering the 14.5 alcohol;  a wine of great charm and character, stays on the palate and on the mind, very good indeed for at least another 5 years.

CABERNOIR 2006.

Deep young, nicely concentrated dark ruby, very fresh-looking;  fine expression of up-front red/black fruits, with a touch of black cherry jam and a little warm spiciness;  same fleshy, up-front fruit on the palate, natural tannins, still a little green and has not the complexity nor the purity of the Cabernet Franc, but has an attractive, youthful robustness, perfect for red meats or grilled meat (even grilled fish) especially when eaten in the open air; will develop nicely, but do not keep so long that the youthful fruit is lost.

SUMMARY.

A very good range of wines, plainly made with respect for the soil, the grapes and the region, seems like minimal intervention and all four have a fine naturalness which makes them perfect to accompany a meal with friends.  Many thanks for having given me the change to taste and to enjoy these wines.

Steven Spurrier.

Mosimann’s

Mosimann’s

Anton Mosimann is a shiny star of the London’s and international cuisine world. He was chief of significant hotel’s and restaurant’s kitchen. One of the most important period was the traditional The Dorchester, where has been in charge for 13 years. Int he last 20 years, he si running his own club, the Mosimann’s which is the exclusive meeting-point of the British aristocracy and the Royal Family. Our presentation, held int he Mosimann’s was a great success for our vinery. The tasters were astonished by the exceptional Cabernet Franc 2006, and due to that, the Malatinszky wines will appear int he sortiment of several dominant hotel and restaurant of London int he next months.

Benares Restaurant & Bar (Michelin 1*)

China Tang Restaurant

Greenhouse Restaurant (Michelin 1*)

Hush Restaurant

Home House

L’ Oranger Restaurant

Mosimann’s Club

The Dorchester (Michelin 3*)

The George Bistro Restaurant

The Ritz Hotel London