Vylyan Cabernet Franc 2011, Hungary
Think of Hungarian wine and chances are your only image is of the traditional 'Bull's Blood', or the fantastic sweet wines of Tokaji. But in the south of the country lies a red wine heartland of terrific quality, and just a few of the wines are now appearing on UK shelves.
Though often producing quite light and fruity wines in the Loire Valley in France, elsewhere, with hotter climates allowing extra ripeness, Cabernet Franc finds a rich and much more powerful expression, as in this wine from Villany , a real hotspot for this variety in southwest Hungary. It's a melange of cocoa, deep and ripe mulberry and dusty Agen prune on the nose, with an excellent quality of oak and obvious ripeness. On the palate super-ripe cassis and juicy black plum depth of fruit is layered with a smokiness, a dry framework of tannin and well-balanced acidity. It has power and weight but a fine sense of alertness and freshness too. A terrific wine.
£16.95 from winedmeup.co.uk, see all stockists on wine-searcher.com.
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