I found out about the Dúzsi Tamás winery and its Hungarian rosé menagerie thanks to fellow Greenpoint resident and ace wine entrepreneur Athena Bochanis. (We were introduced by Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly fame. Thank you, MP!) In 2013, Athena started a company called Palinkerie Fine Hungarian Imports, bringing in many cool and exciting wines. It was a shift in career gears, moving on from studying law at NYU. I’d say it was an outstanding decision. Not that Athena couldn’t be a lawyer of great renown, but the wine thing is really working out. (That’s an understatement.)
CASE IN POINT: I attended a Palenkerie portfolio tasting, at the Hungarian embassy no less! Athena was showing not one not two but six (!!!!!!) Dúzsi Tamás single-variety rosés. Or, rather, rozés. Winemaker Tamás Dúzsi actually makes eight single variety rosés, of which Athena imports seven. Tamás also crafts three rosé blends that are not imported. A la This is Spinal Tap, it’s a lineup of Hungarian rosé that goes to 11.
Even better? You can buy these rosés in a six-pack. Whatever holiday wine list you have, PUT THIS AT THE TOP. STEP ASIDE, EVERYTHING ELSE.
You get one bottle each of Hungarian rosé made from:
- Kadarka
- Cabernet Franc
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Merlot
- Shiraz
- Pinot Noir
Look at this dang thing. Aren’t you in love? You’ve probably heard of all the grapes above except for numero uno, Kadarka, which is an indigenous grape. I’m partial to the Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir, but those are grapes I adore as red wines so no surprise there.
Go Forth and Explore Hungarian Rosé
If you can’t get this sweet box (of dry wine) I recommend tracking down more than one bottle of these rosés to compare and contrast. This is a really cool learning experience. Each rosé has a different color, intensity, aroma, and flavor. Have an amazing tasting (aka drinking) party, preferably not full of navel-gazing serial swirlers.
Athena was kind enough to put me in touch with Tamás Jr. who, along with his brother Bence, helps out in the cellar. Here’s what he had to say about these rozés:
Actually we wanted to try all of our red grape varieties in rosés, and we did it over the years. After that we have chosen among them the 6 best varieties beside the Kékfrankos to produce the first selection rosés in 2007. We specialize in rosé wines and wanted to show that rosé wines can be as great as great reds and whites, and that they can also be terroir products. They show the pure varietal notes of a certain grape variety without tannnis as it would be in reds.
The selection box allows people (and also us :)) to taste these single vineyard, single variety rosés in different vintages. It is always a good experience. As these rosés are ageable, we can even taste the different selection rosés from the different vintages to compare them to each other. Actually they develop with time, many of them showing late harvest notes in the nose, and ripe fruits.
Ok, you have your marching orders. Make the rest of this year, and from 2019 to eternity, all about the rozé.
For more on Athena, read this profile on SevenFifty Daily.
