Fun Hungarian Furmint for the Explorers

Today’s Story: Királyudvar

Királyudvar (which translates to The King’s Court) is a historic Hungarian wine estate with roots back to the 16th century. Királyudvar is located in the Tokaj wine region which sits about 220 kilometers northeast of Budapest, and the estate previously provided wines to the Habsburg dynasty. The estate as it is known today, however, was “established” in 1997 when American businessman Tony Hwang purchased it following a visit upon which the wines of the estate blew him away. Tony, alongside famed local winemaker István Szepsy, purchased 10 hectares of vineyards around the villages of Mád and Bodrogkeresztúr and reconstructed the château. Over time they expanded to about 75 hectares across the chief vineyards of Lapis, Henye, Percze, Becsek, Danczka, and Nyulászó, all of which are farmed organically with biodynamic practices in use as well. Királyudvar is known for their world-class wines across a range of styles, being highly regarded for dry, demi-sec, sweet, and sparkling wines produced with the native Furmint variety.

Today’s Wine: 2015 Tokaji Furmint Sec

Indicated blend of ~90% Furmint and ~10% Hárslevelű; 13.5% ABV

The 2015 Tokaji Furmint Sec is medium to deep yellow in color with golden hues. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of yellow apple, pear, quince, tropical citrus, white florals, honeycomb, wet stone, almond, and mineral. Meanwhile the flavors are of medium (+) intensity and the palate displays notes of lemon, peach, pineapple, banana, elderflower, a hint of smoke, white pepper, dried green herbs, and saline. This dry white is medium-bodied with high acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. This is a very refreshing and delicious wine that was fun to drink.

Price: $28 (I paid $21). This is a very nice value wine that’s fun for the explorers out there who may not be familiar with Hungarian wines or any of their native varieties. What’s more, since most of the Furmint wines I’ve had have been sweet this was interesting to try.