Zoltán Balogh makes the wines at Apátsági, a seven-acre estate in Somló, in Hungary’s far northwestern corner. He produces a particularly rich hárslevelü from the appelation’s cool, basalt-strewn soils, fermenting the golden, superripe grapes with ambient yeasts in large oak barrels. Kept for a year in the same vessels, then bottled unfiltered, with a minimum of sulfur, the 2017 opens into a creamy mouthful of flavor, from white-cherry and pear fruit to sandalwood and jasmine tea. Firm, with a hint of tannins, this can take on white meat, such as a pork terrine with pickled cherries, or braised pork cheeks.
Imported by Danch & Granger, Los Altos Hills, CA
93
Apátsági Pince 2017 Nagy-Somlói Hárslevelü
$27
Every week, our editors highlight a wine that intrigued them in our blind panel tastings, expanding on their tasting note in this space. These are entirely editorial choices; there are no paid placements. Subscribers can also access the original tasting note by searching here.
is W&S’s editor at large and covers the wines of the Mediterranean and Central and Eastern Europe for the magazine.
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This story appears in the print issue of December 2021.
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