Best of Budapest & Hungary

Csaba Koch’s 2012 Villány Csanád cuvée is Hungary’s best red wine according to the Circle of Hungarian Wine Writers. In the journalists’ Super 12 competition, the best white wine title goes to Imre Györgykovács’s 2015 Nagy-Somló Furmint.

Somló has knocked Tokaj off its perch in the latest ‘Super 12’: experts felt that the best white wine was Imre Györgykovács’s Nagy-Somló 2015 Furmint (previously the victor was the 2013 Szent Tamás Furmint from the Mád Szent Tamás Winery).

As for reds, while last year an Eger wine scooped up the prize (namely the Thummerer Winery’s Egri Bikavér Grand Superior from the 2012 vintage), the best of the best in 2017 comes from Villány, and the award goes to someone who originally began making wine in the Alföld (Great Plain): Csaba Koch. In the 2000s, many praised his Irsai and Cserszegi wines as outstanding, then came his wonderful rosé, Cabernet and Kadarka. His professional work has rendered numerous accolades, his wines bringing home golds from the world’s largest competitions. Thrilled with his success, Koch opened towards a very different terroir, and settled in Villány about a decade ago: he started to cultivate vines in the Diósviszló Imre Valley and those wines, from that particular valley, quickly made their way into the big book of full-bodied red wines. His Cabernet Sauvignons have received a number of international awards and his 2012 Bordeaux blend Csanád cuvée, named after his son, also gained huge successes. In addition to this latest prize from the Circle of Hungarian Wine Writers, the cuvée was honored with a gold medal and the special press prize in Bergamo, followed by the Top Gold prize (with 96 points) at the Düsseldorf PAR Wine Award International Competition. Last year his winery won Hungary’s Most Beautiful Estate award, following the Winery of the Year 2014 prize.