The label for this wine made me think more of Halloween than the Valentine’s Day that was so close at hand. I’m a big hater of V-Day though, so for me this seemed like a perfect fit. The black cat with the quizzical stare had me a bit quizzical about what this bottle might hold.
I had never tried a wine from Hungary before so I started my research there. It turns out that Hungary is mostly known for sweet wines, notably, Tokaji from Tokaj, Hungary. While other varietals are grown on a smaller scale, they are all equally difficult to pronounce, just like this wine, which was a Portugieser. *
Hungary does have one region in particular that is known for producing most of the countries’ red wines. That region is called Villány and that is also where this Portugieser is from. With five different vineyards in the area, the Vylyan Winery is able to produce several different wines each year. They also host local wine festivals in Hungary each year, in hopes to better inform the public and other winemakers about what Hungary has to offer the wine world. *
This wine was from Villány, Hungary and sampled on February 8, 2019. I noted the deep red color before inhaling the scents of dark plum and cherries. I was listening to “Life” by Guts. The first taste was smooth with tannins that gripped the back of my tongue heavily. It had just the tiniest bit of zip that threw off the grippy tannins just a little. Simple notes of dark plum match to the scent. It tasted better alone than with the pulled pork stuffed sweet potato.
I gave this wine a rating of 2.0. It did not stand out in any way and was not particularly nice to drink, especially with food. It would be tolerable if it was the forth or so bottle opened in a night, but otherwise a hard pass. Thinking back, I would probably rate it lower because I did not end up even drinking any more of it.
Sources:
https://www.wine.com/product/vylyan-vineyards-and-winery-villanyi-macska-portugieser-2015/332545