VOX

Personal opinion:

Energetic, fiery, sexy. The 2014 harvest of the typically Badacsony variety resulted in a honeyed wine with fine colours, tropical fruit aromas and mineral acids. It is a unisex wine. According to legend, one who drinks from it will not wake on his or her own the next day.

Gastronomical pairing:
We can compensate its fieriness with fish dishes. I consumed it with pike-perch fillet with dill.

About the Vulcanus variety:

Vulcanus is a new Hungarian variety, a curiosity in Hungary and the world, perhaps also unknown even for the majority of Hungarians. It can mostly be found in the Balaton Uplands. Vulcanus was created by cross-breeding Pinot Gris and Budai Zöld/Green. It became a variety recognized by the state in 2003. Its cluster is short and thick-set, medium sized. The berries are round, small, green, its juice is colourless, while the flesh is succulent. Its yield is abundant, the yield must be limited to achieve excellent quality.
Its wine has a mineral character with a slightly fruity aroma. It is not intrusive but rather low-key. The flavours are succulent, full-bodied, can almost be bitten. It is a new variety with strong chances to become a hungaricum.

The region and its history:

In the Badacsony area, vines were grown in Roman times, and Emperor Probus had sizeable plantings here. At the time of the settlement of the Magyars in Hungary they already knew about vines and wine. They appreciated areas capable of growing vine. A significant part of the wine region was taken over by the church in the 13th century. In the 18th-19th century the Badacsony vermouth gained a similar reputation to that of the Tokaj aszú in Europe.
During the reconstruction after the phylloxera epidemic, supporting walls were built to prevent soil erosion. New varieties also entered the area. The Szürkebarát was introduced from France by monks. Due to the special soil content it evolved into a typical local variety, the Szürkebarát, which botrytises in good years.
The variety grown in the biggest amount is Olaszrizling that is in better years ripened on the stock longer, and is used to make ice wine or late-harvest hand-selected Olaszrizling. Szürkebarát, Tramini, Sárga muskotály, Rajnai rizling and Chardonnay are also present on the larger lands.
Kéknyelű or " Blue Stem" used to be a characteristic wine of the region. It was significantly confined by the frost damage of the 1980's but is experiencing a revival today, and will be an emblematic wine of the Badacsony region again in the near future.

Badacsony wines are typically full-bodied, fiery, aromatic and mineralized. Traditional wine-making and maturation in wooden barrels are characteristic. Although reductive wine-making and other modern technologies are also spreading, they have not significantly changed the character of the region's wine, yet.

Climate and geography:

Badacsony is the highest mountain in the Tapolca Basin; it stands between two bays of Lake Balaton. The circumference of the almost round mountain is 11km, the diameter of its top region slightly elongated in the north-south direction is 1-1.5km, its highest point is 437.4 metres above sea level. Its hillside is covered up to 280 metres by various loose deposits that are excellent for growing vine, and its soil is basalt-based loess. It is covered by various loose deposit, Pannon clay and Pannon loess, above which there are basalt rocks. Its climate is mild and balanced with high humidity. Because of the proximity of Lake Balaton the southern hills can also enjoy the sunshine reflected from the surface of the water, therefore there is a very beneficial microclimate that makes the making of natural dessert wine possible.
The wine region includes the vine cadastre-based first and second class border sections of the following settlements: Ábrahámhegy, Badacsonytomaj, Badacsonytördemic, Balatonrendes, Balatonszepezd, Diszel, Gyulakeszi, Hegymagas, Káptalantóti, Kisapáti, Kővágóörs, Nemesgulács, Raposka, Révfülöp, Salföld, Szigliget, Tapolca.

NAME: VOX

YEAR: 2014

VARIETY: Vulcanus

WINE REGION: Badacsony

CLASS: Dry white wine with protected designation of origin

Product of Hungary

Bottle volume: 750ml

Alc. 12,5%vol

Contains sulphites