Malatinszky, Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, 2018 

Malatinszky Kúria, Villány Region

Csaba Malatinszky started his career in wine as a sommelier, working in several of Budapest’s top restaurants in the 1990s. When he decided to go in the direction of winemaking (founding his winery in 1997), he set high standards for himself right from the start. “My goal was to produce a few internationally outstanding wines,” he said. “Later I realized that all of my wines have to be outstanding.” That aim is obvious when you talk to Malatinszky, visit his winery, and taste his wines. Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the important grapes in the Villány region—used on its own and in Bordeaux-style blends. And this one is a fine example. On the nose there are delicious notes of cassis, blackberry, plum jam, cloves, and cinnamon. There are layers of flavor, from fruitiness (tart strawberries and currants), spiciness (cloves and white pepper), oakyness (smoke and tobacco), as well as smoked ham, roasted bell pepper, and licorice. This wine was aged for 12 months in 500-liter Hungarian oak barrels. Alcohol is 13.5 percent, and the tannins give it a very dry finish. This wine has the acidity and tannins needed to continue to age well in the bottle. It’s an elegant and complex wine, which is great with burgers, grilled steak and vegetables, or csevapcsicsi (Balkan meatballs). This is an organic and vegan wine.  

Read About The Villány Region