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NV Kreinbacher Birtok Nagy-Somló
A bubbly, mostly from Furmint. Really attractive citrus aromas, some yeast, plenty of spice. Small bubbles. Quite rich and concentrated but it has good acidity and a bite that is almost tannic. Very nice.
2013 Kreinbacher Nagy-Somló Öreg Tokék Bora
Tokék bora = Vieilles vignes, old vines. This is about half Olaszrizling and the other half is a mix of the other native grapes. This has almost tropical fruit flavours but without the sweetness and size associated with tropical flavours. It also has some of that earthy spiciness I have usually thought was a Furmit quality, but with so little Furmint in this wine, I guess it can be from other things, too! Dry, intense, citric, persistent and really nice.
2014 Somlói Vándor Pince Nagy-Somló Nagy-Somlói cuvée
40% Furmint with the rest a mix of mostly native grapes and a small bit of Sauvignon Blanc. Orange. It smells like a sweet wine, more specifically an Alsace late-harvest PG: sweet, spicy with the earthy/mushroomy flavours bringing a much needed savoury aspect. Spicy and acidic, quite a hard wine though it has big body, almost as if it had tannins as well as acidity, though it is not a skin contact wine IIRC. I think it has RS at the lower end where it just becomes noticeable but it finishes perfectly dry and tangy. Nice!
2013 Györgykovács Imre Olaszrizling Nagy-Somló
Olaszrizling = Welschriesling. Very pale. Very neutral fruit aromas as expected from the grape. But it does have some nice minerality (whatever that is) and it is relatively light and soft, though certainly not lacking in acidity. Gentle but nice.
2010 Györgykovács Imre Hárslevelű
Hárslevelű is usually a less aggressive and more easygoing grape than Furmint so it was a bit of a surprise to stick my nose in the glass and having this one punch me and then show me the finger. Slight SB-like cats' piss aroma but lots of citrus and sharpness. Acidic, lean, mean, steely, tight, angry and needs solitary confinement to calm down. I can see why some Hungarian fans say that Somlós need a decade to calm down. I imagine this will be really nice with more age. I already kind of like it, but I guess when it comes to wine, I do get excited by a bit of pain.
2012 Somlói Apátsági Pince Hárslevelű Nagy-Somló
A strange wine. Gold colour. It smells like honey, marmalade and botrytis though, unlike Tokaji, this isn't area where botrytis easily takes hold. The palate, however, is dry, powerful, acidic and with a density like a neutron star: just a small sip feels incredibly weighty. Interesting and really quite lovely.
2011 Hollóvár Nagy-Somló Furmint Takács Lajos
This is very much a "naturalist" property - they don't even have electricity! And it smells like it in the positive way. Not dirty at all, quite the opposite in fact. But it does have the vividness of fruit that natural wines at their best can have. Slight melon and honey aromas with the slightest touch of wool and mushroom brings off-dry Loire Chenin to my mind. Soft, slightly sweet palate with good acidic structure makes this evaporate very fast from my glass. It however lacks the spicy, almost aggressive nature of dry Furmint. So at least with my very limited experience, this does not seem the most typical dry Furmint. But who cares, it is lovely.
2009 Fekete Pince Somlovasarhely Nagy-Somló Somlói Juhfark
The final three wines are all from Juhfark, not only a Hungarian grape but autochthonous to this volcanic ex-mountain, now hill. And my goodness what a lovely wine this is. The fruit is not at all as neutral as I was led to believe (Juhfark was likened to unoaked Chardonnay by some). Instead it goes to the peach/apricot spectrum of fruit. Ripe and honeyed and summery. But there is a steely spine and and exoskeleton, too, just to make sure it doesn't become flabby.
For a ripe, fruity wine it sure does have structure. Open and pleasurable now, but it does seem like it still has some baby fat it could lose.2011 Royal Somló Nagy-Somló J
More neutral than the Fekete above with some wax and wool aromas that slightly remind me of dry Chenin more than Chablis. The palate is quite different: very dense, very rich, neutral fruit aromas, but powerful and almost tannic though not a skin contact white. Another neutron star of a wine. Not bad at all, but my least favourite of the three Juhfarks.
2012 Spiegelberg István Juhfark Nagy-Somló
This is again a "naturalist" or otherwise slightly strange winery. They play Gregorian chant to the wines in the cellar. But who cares about that when the wine is so good. Once again the fruit is in the apricot/peach spectrum of aromas. Big fruit, broad but good structure, hugely drinkable and fun. Difficult to say which I prefer of these Juhfarks, this or the Fekete. But lovely wines both of them.
So should someone interested in unique dry whites with huge personalities and wild stylistic differences try some Somló? Hell, yes! One of the most interesting tastings I've ever been to. So maybe they don't hit the great highs of the greatest Mosel Rieslings or Loire Chenins, but these are still superb wines and they're something truly unique. And the prices were something like 8-12€ for most except the last two which were 19€. Not a big investment if you then decide you don't like them!