Winemaker Notes
Mandolás Furmint is a young, fruity wine with a fresh nose and aroma, but with body and a lively tone of acidity. It's suitable for drinking now, but can be aged for up to 15 years if stored under ideal conditions.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Exciting evolution for a wine showing greater expressive, character and moreish textural appeal. Furmint's trademark linden and chamomile notes hover over fleshy blanched almonds, quince and yellow apple. A fine layer of white pepper and nutmeg adds a spicy lift. The mid palate is unctuous, with lemon curd coating the palate. This richness is offset by a fresh mineral backbone, leading to a long toasty finish.
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James Suckling
This furmint shows aromas of green pears, sliced apples and limes with touches of flint and petrol. Open and generous, with a medium body and a dry, medium-long finish.
Native to Hungary, Furmint is the white grape variety principally responsible for the highly desired, historically important and lusciously sweet, elixir called Tokaji. The wine called Tokaji is named after the Hungarian region from which it comes: Tokaj. More recently the motivations of proud, young Hungarian winemakers have brought Furmint into a new light as a delicately crisp and dry white. Somm Secret—The sweetest version, Tokaji Eszencia, contains so much sugar that it has an aging capacity of 200 years!
Best known for lusciously sweet dessert wines but also home to distinctive dry whites and reds, Hungary is an exciting country at the crossroads of tradition and innovation. Mostly flat with a continental climate, Hungary is almost perfectly bisected by the Danube River (known here as the Duna), and contains central Europe’s largest lake, Balaton. Soil types vary throughout the country but some of the best vines, particularly in Tokaj, are planted on mineral-rich, volcanic soil.
Tokaj, Hungary’s most famous wine region, is home to the venerated botrytized sweet wine, Tokaji, produced from a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelű. Dry and semi-dry wines are also made in Tokaj, using the same varieties. Other native white varieties include the relatively aromatic and floral, Irsai Olivér, Cserszegi Fűszeres and Királyleányka, as well as the distinctively smoky and savory, Juhfark. Common red varieties include velvety, Pinot Noir-like Kadarka and juicy, easy-drinking Kékfrankos (known elsewhere as Blaufränkisch).