Text 6875, 115 rader
Skriven 2006-10-23 14:35:53 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Michael Loo
Ärende: HUNGARIAN DISHES 45761023
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 -=> Quoting Michael Loo to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> Tokay's three main grapes is made.  The Szamorodni may be dry (sz raz)
 GJ> or slightly sweet (édes).
 ML> Edes is to my understanding sweet enough to be served as
 ML> a dessert wine. Not the unctuous Aszu, but sweet enough.
 ML> The slightly sweet version is made by
 GJ> arresting the fermentation of the wine before all of the sugar is
 GJ> converted into alcohol."

 ML> I read differently - I thought there was a small proportion of
 ML> Aszu grapes in the wine, but not enough to pull out.
 
 GJ> Of the Diszn¢k¢, she says, "At 6 puttonyos, Tokays begin to be so
 GJ> concentrated they are literally syupy and their aromas have an almost
 GJ> frightening intensity.

 ML> I don't know about "literally syrupy" nor "frightening intensity."
 ML> A bit of hyperbole perhaps?

All the above was quoting your illustrious Karen MacNeil, in her "The
Wine Bible", which is modestly described in the cover notes by Robert
Mondavi as, "The most complete wine book ever".  Of course she is
American, writing for Americans, so could be expected to be a trifle
hyperbolic.

I did notice she uses "Vin santo" to describe the sweet Tuscan wines,
while referring to the similar "dried grape" wines of Santorini as
"vis nto", although the stuff that I tried there was clearly labelled
"Vinsanto".  The Boutari Vinsanto 2003 I tried at the winery was quite
delicious as a dessert wine, but later, at the Santo winery we tasted
some of their wines.  Tasting cost 2 Euros a 150 ml glass, so for 10E
we decided to try 5 wines.  While in Greece we were a party of 5 -
Nora, Bill, and two American friends of Nora's who had joined us for
the Greek week - a Filipino-born man and a Mexican-born woman - and
me.  We all shared the 5 glasses which Nora selected from the list.
The last wine on that list of tasters was their Vinsanto Reserve,
1996, listed at 48E a bottle.  I told Nora she was asking too much to
expect the girl behind the bar to give 150 ml of that for 2E, but she
said she would try; nothing ventured...

To my surprise we got all we asked for!  That last glass had almost
10E value of wine in it.  I made sure I had first tasting of each
glass, before passing them on.

The first was an Athiri white, very dry, acceptible, then the
Santorini Assyrtico Reserve white, with a powerful fruit aroma,
balanced flavour and body, and what was alleged to be the taste of the
volcanic soil. A Navrotrajano red was not nice at all, being very
astringent, and as no one liked it enough to finish the glass, it
finished up on the cactus on the balcony where we were tasting,
overlooking the bay and a few islands, far below.  The other red was
Kameri, still astringent, but more acceptable.

Then came the Santorini Vinsanto '96.  A wonderful aroma of honey and
raisins!  Huge legs.  Sweet nectar of the gods, wonderfully balanced,
utterly gorgeous, the best wine I can remember drinking, ever!  After
my first sip I told the others that it was awful, and I wouldn't ruin
their palates by forcing it on them, but would drink it myself.
Unfortunately I was facing them, and they could see my beatific
expression, so I had to give up the chalice.  I can taste it yet!
 
 GJ> Teleki Vill nyi Pinot Noir 2003 (Ft1300 = US$6).
 ML> By no means cheap.

Prices have risen since you were last in Hungary.  :(

 ML> [Below is a relevant post from 1997]
 ML> Tokaji Disznoko 6 pts

 ML> It was a '92, so I guess that it was a bit young. Seemed forward,
 ML> a little spicy. Very luxurious on the tongue. Sweet, as you would
 ML> expect, but not cloying. I was surprised by the freshness, given
 ML> that I have previously drunk young Tokays from the state monopoly
 ML> which even upon release had a heavy, oxidized taste. The fruit
 ML> also was fresher than that from the state bottlings, which always
 ML> tasted a little wet-cardboardy and cooked. Good botrytis; long
 ML> finish; Tokay aszu, even the Communist variety, always had good
 ML> botrytis and an almost everlasting finish.

From what I was told, since the ousting of the Communist controls, and
the influx of foreign capital and expertise, the quality of Hungarian
wines has improved immensely.

 ML> Contrast this with the October 1995 Pacherenc de Vic-Bilh
 ML> (producer forgotten, but Ian says he's the best there) that
 ML> Ian served with the foie gras, which was a fullish-bodied
 ML> wine that had no botrytis to speak of (the concentrated
 ML> quality of the juice is a function of the late harvest, rather
 ML> than the action of some microorganism). An extremely fruity,
 ML> almost flowery wine that picked up on the apple garnish but whose
 ML> good acidity cut through the richness of the entree. Great legs,
 ML> quite luxurious but in a completely different way. Long finish,
 ML> but nothing compared to the Tokay.

If only I had had more time (and money) to spend on the Hungarian and
Greek wines...

 ML> - - -

 ML> There cannot be six men in the world with such a palate as yours ...
 ML> . 
 ML> It cannot be too often stated that what is called palate consists of
 ML> four factors, in ascending order of importance: natural acuity of
 ML> senses, love and respect for food, education, and experience. The
 ML> best way to cultivate a palate is to cultivate it! And the only thing
 ML> that stands in the way of our developing one as fancy as Lord Peter
 ML> Wimsey's is that we do not have the unlimited time and the unlimited
 ML> capital to do so.

Well said.
___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]

--- FLAME v2.0/b
 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)