Szentesi, Zengő Öcsi, 2020

Szentesi Winery, Etyek-Buda Region

The Zengő grape is a Hungarian crossing (of Ezerjó and Bouvier) created in 1951 by Ferenc Király, who was an agricultural scientist and prolific creator of grape crossings. Working at different grape research institutes across the country, he spent most of his life studying aromatic grape varieties. He created some other Hungarian varieties, and he seemed to like the letter Z—Zefír, Zenit, Zeta, Zeusz. Zengő is only grown in Hungary, mostly in Etyek-Buda, around Balaton, and occasionally in Eger. It produces aromatic wines with good acidity, and it is usually used in blends. So this 100 percent Zengő is an unusual one. Grapes are from Szentesi’s Nadap vineyard at Lake Velence, harvested between September 6^th to 9^th. This wine is a complex but easy-drinking one—with lots of nice texture, a rich and thick mouthfeel, and a creamy yogurt body. It has elegant flavors of mango and pineapple, as well as candied fruit flavors (lemon and pineapple). And so much pear! Poached pear, quince, and baking spices give the wine a warm sensation. Some tannins give the wine a nice structure, and a sort of smokiness that you could think comes from barrel aging (but this wine only saw steel tanks). We love its elegant fruit-forward character. Try this wine with salted cod dishes, creamy risotto, mushroom pasta, or eggplant dishes. Only 2,500 bottles were produced.

Read About The Etyek-Buda Region