Grape Spotlight: Etyek-Buda Szentesi Zengő

The Etyek-Buda PDO has many unique characteristics regarding Hungarian wine regions. It is very small (1,652 hectares of vineyards) and the closest to Budapest -- located just over the Buda Hills and extending southwest to Lake Velence (Hungary’s second largest lake) near the former royal city Szekesfehervar and southwest to the slopes of the Gerecse hills.  The climate here is influenced not by one, but by three geographical features; the Alfold plains to the south, Lake Balaton to the west, and the mountain winds from the Carpathians to the north. These winds help make this one of the coldest climate regions in Hungary with an average temperature of 9.5° to 10.5° C (49° to 51° F).  The soils are predominately limestone and these rolling hills have historically been planted with international varieties used in sparkling wine production: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Yes, even Sauvignon Blanc is used to produce Asti-like sparklers. Törley, Hungary’s largest sparkling wine producer, has been producing sparkling wine from Etyek-Buda grapes since 1882.  

Szentesi Pince is another producer utilizing grapes from this area and more importantly, József Szentesi has been instrumental in re-introducing older grape varieties lost during the phylloxera scourge in the late 19th century back to the region. In 1988, "after studying 19th-century viticultural and oenological works, he decided to plant 10 forgotten white and blue grape varieties. He requested canes from the Viticulture and Wine Research Institute of the University of Pécs and began propagating and planting the varieties around Lake Velence".  Today this endeavor has expanded to 30 grape varieties planted on 14 hectares of vines. According to the winery, and common sense suggests, that "experimenting with nearly 30 varieties is extremely challenging since in each vintage you have to hit the right harvest time exactly thirty times, you have to process thirty distinct grapes, and you have to deal with thirty different wines separately".

The Zengő grape is one of these grapes and is a Hungarian crossing (of Ezerjó and Bouvier) created in 1951 by Ferenc Király -- 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." It is also most likely named after the highest peak of the Mecsek Hills, located in southwest Hungary. More interesting is that the grape buds early, but ripens slowly -- allowing time for the acidity and complexity to mature.  It seems to thrive on volcanic tuff soils and in cooler climates.

I purchased the Szentesi Zengő 2020 ($23.90) through the Taste Hungary wine club and their shipment of  Szentesi’s Grapes from the Past. This Zengő is from the Nadap vineyard where the vines were first planted in 1988. The grape thrives in the cooler Etyek-Buda region with its limestone volcanic soils. This is a complex wine, full-bodied and textured with layers of tropical and stone fruits with a little baking spices on the tail. Expect fresh acidity throughout.