Sauska
During the last decade, Sauska Cellars, established at the beginning of 2000, has been developed into one of the most significant cellars in Hungary.
Their wines, due to their excellent balance and consistently high quality, won several domestic and international awards in this period.
Photo: www.sauska.hu
As we have reported earlier, the “Cuvée 5 2009″ of Sauska Cellars has won the 2013 Decanter World Wine Award of the “Best Local Bordeaux” in the price category over 15 pound.
As part of our Villány tour organized before New Year’s Eve, we visited these cellars. We had to book in advance to participate in a wine tasting, which included a brief walk in the cellars.
We arrived to the property from Villány on foot, where the host offered the first wine to taste, a Tokaj Furmint 2011 beside the romantic open fireplace.
Photo: www.sauska.hu
We have been informed that the Cellars operate vineyards of almost 100 ha, located on the Villány and Tokaj-Hegyalja areas. Properties in the Villány area are within the boundaries of the cities of Villány and Siklós, whilst in the Tokaj area within the settlements of Mád, Tokaj, Rátka and Bodrogkeresztúr.
Following the short introduction, we tasted a summer wine – a fruity rose – which made us quickly forget about the cold wind blowing across the hills of Villány. During the tasting we learned more about the vineyard: the cellar, which combines traditional hand-made winemaking methods with the most modern technology, processes wide range of grape varieties.
Red wines include Bordeaux and local varieties (kadarka, kékfrankos and portugieser), whilst white wines comprise of chardonnay, furmint, hárslevelű, yellow muskotály and sauvignon blanc.
We also tasted the Villány Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, which we took with us to the cellar walk.
This wine was fermented mostly in tanks. Deep red color with spicy aromas. Well balanced wine with spicy taste and medium body. A delicious wine suitable for friendly conversations.
We visited the entire factory from the grape processing line to the fermenting cellar, including the bottling department.
Most of the wines are fermented under control in stainless steel tanks. Barrels made of oak – dried over the period of 3 years – from France and the US are used for final fermentation. The cellar can hold 1500 barrels, each with the capacity of 225 liter of wine. The Cellars operates its own laboratory, which is capable for performing all necessary tests.
Photo: www.sauska.hu
On return from the walk we were offered freshly baked bread and soda water before the last wine arrived, the “Villány Cuvée 7 2009″.
Cuvée 7 is the combination of Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. Bright, deep red color, spicy aroma. Concentrated spicy taste with large body and mature tannin. This is a rich wine with the potential of further fermentation.
In summary, we enjoyed excellent hospitality. We tasted outstanding wines, which meet modern requirements in accordance with the very high standards of the Cellars. One thing is sure, we will return.
