An Unusual Birthday Present

4 Mar 2013: Most of us run out of ideas when it comes to anniversary or birthday presents for our loved ones, even for the most creative individuals amongst us. This is the best one I have heard: a plot of vines every year and even more remarkable when the vineyards are in the region where your loved one comes from!  Presents of love from a wife to a husband!



The wines by Holdvölgy

 Year after year, the vineyard area grows in size, to a very respectable area of 25 hectares. With the purchase of a property with a 2-kilometer long cellar dating back to 14th Century, the Holdvölgy winery (literally translates to "Valley of the Moon") was born and entrusted to the brother and sister team, Pascal and Natália Demkó, with their respective skills complementing the technical knowledge and experience of winemaker Stéphanie Berecz.  The 25 hectares, consisting of 19 parcels in 7 vineyards, are located in the Mád Valley of the Tokaji region, where their father comes from.  Using indigenous grape varieties including Furmint, Hárslevelü, Sárgamuskotály, Zéta and a couple others, Holdvölgy's aim is to make handcrafted wines, that marry a deep respect for the terroirs and the traditional custom, with modern day winemaking skills, creative product design and clever branding.  Pascal was very excited about the newly completed winery: like a NASA project in the middle of the sleepy and traditional Mád Valley.  (www.holdvolgy.com)
Pascal jetsetted in for this very special wine tasting dinner at Pierre Restaurant, whose executive chef handled the challenging task of pairing Holdvölgy's wines with 6 different dishes with great dexterity and aplomb, each dish successfully bringing out the character of each wine. 



Seabass carpaccio, with seaweed mayonnaise and mustard ice-cream
 (Sorry, I took the photo when the ice cream had started melting!)

Line-caught seabass carpaccio, seaweed mayonnaise, mustard ice-cream, grilled sweet red peppers 2007 Meditation: Dry wine, made with 100% Furmint, 80% fermented and aged in stainless steel and 20% in barrels.  The pairing with the seabass carpaccio and seaweed mayonnaise was marriage made in heaven!  A very attractive nose of honeysuckle, pineapple, passionfruit and honey notes, layered with almond, toast and smoke.  Medium bodied, smooth texture gently coating the palate to wrap up with a minerally salty finish. Drink now and for next 4 - 5 years.  A very versatile wine for pairing with food, particularly seafood!  17/20

Abalone with tuna and sesame

Abalone/bacon, melba toast with tuna and sesame
2009 Expression: Dry wine, made with 100% Hárslevelü, from the single vineyard of Betsek.  Lime blossom, grapefruit, and herbal nose.  Nicely rounded mouthfeel, creamy texture, balanced by vivid acidity.  The palate is all minerality and purity, with beautiful fine detail and a very long finish.  A wine of pedigree and class. Great stuff. Drink now and for the next 8 - 10 years. 18/20 

Blue lobster, with green tea and almond paste

Blue lobster "aiguillettes", cauliflower cream flavoured with lobster coral.
Green tea and almond paste butter.
2007 Eloquence, Szamorodni (104 g/litre residual sugar): Sweet, made with Furmint and Hárslevelü.  A very interesting rendition of these two grape varieties.  Apricot, orange peel and honey, with toast and nutty nuances.  Interesting dry sensation on the finish, very long.  17.5/20 
The sweet nutty and toasty notes of the wine paired very well with the umami flavours of the lobster coral and the richness of the almond paste butter, and the bitter-sweet taste of the green tea striking a harmonious note with the Szamorodni character!
This dish could also go very well with Meditation.

Pigeon, with black pepper, foie gras, black truffle and blood orange sauce

Provençal Socca, lamb's lettuce salad and pan-seared celery with blood orange; thinly-sliced pigeon with black pepper, foie gras and black truffle.
2008 Intuition No.2, Late Harvest (99 g/litre residual sugar): Sweet, made with Sárgamuskotály (Muscat à Petits Grains) from the oldest vineyard Nyúlászó, aged in French and Hungarian casks.  I had tried this wine before and this had not been my favourite wine of the range.  However, tonight, the pairing with pigeon, foie gras and black truffle, with the very zingy blood orange sauce, spiced up with black pepper, brought to life this wine.  A perfumed bouquet of elderflower, honey and grape.  Full-bodied, perfectly balanced, with firm acidity, that stood up to the zinginess of the blood orange sauce. This pairing was so impeccable that it got voted the best pairing of the night!   18/20  (This wine has now been renamed Exaltation.)

French cheese selection (Ossau Iraty, Vacherin and Bleu d'Auvergne).
2007 Signature, Szamorodni and Aszú blend (125 g/litre residual sugar): Bravo to a concept that embraces tradition with the unique Holdvölgy style.  Made with the 3 grape varieties: Furmint, Hárslevelű, Zéta. The intensive bouquet of honey, apricot, honeysuckle and orange peel wafting up to your nose from the glass.  Medium-full body, bolstered by a perfect amount of acidity to give a lithe and elegant structure, like a ballerina dancing off your palate.  On the palate, it is an explosion of dry Furmint and botrytised Hárslevelü flavours, interlayered with tension and energy derived from minerality and acidity.  Finishes very long.  18/20 
Pascal recommended Fourme d'Ambert with this wine and I, Salers. 

Lemon custard dessert

Clementine syrup: segments, candied rind and Grand Marnier ice cream.
Grapefruit/Campari/rhum sherbet, omiza jelly. 
Large almond lace biscuit: Lemon custard, crisp dessert with lemon and angelica brushed over with olive oil.
2006 Culture, 6 Puttonyos Aszú (174 g/litre residual sugar): Made with fully botrytised Furmint and Hárslevelű grapes. Aged for 2 years in new Hungarian casks.  Medium golden robe.  An intense bouquet of grapefruit marmalade, candied peel, honey, fig,  apricot, quince, macadamia and butterscotch. Full-bodied, unctuous, the decadent richness niftily balanced by searing acidity, giving the very long finish a refreshing and satisfying lift.  An utterly serious wine, lush, seductive and powerful, that keeps luring you back for more, with its memory haunting you for a very long time.  19/20   This is the only traditional Aszú wine made by the winery.  (Pascal said that a dark chocolate dessert could be quite good - otherwise Culture is best enjoyed on its own - I totally agree with him!  Very hard to rival with near perfection!)



Liquid gold served in a porcelain spoon

The final treat was 2009 Esszencia (750 g/litre residual sugar) served in a porcelain spoon, so that we could admire the beautiful colour of this nectar.  One sip, and the mind raced round for adjectives, wild flowers, frangipane, honeycomb, nectarine, quince jelly, candied orange peel, and perfume.  Still in its youth, but this already showed promise as the finest embodiment of all good things about Tokaji: harmony, perfection, precision, heritage and patience.  The finish of this full-bodied liquid gold lasted a minute or longer.  20/20 (Sadly, this product is not available commercially: it is strictly for the family consumption!  And Pascal said very good for his children for curing all sorts of ailments!)

The bottle of liquid gold

It was a truly memorable evening, with very high quality food, exquisite wines and impeccable food and wine pairings, and a very convivial atmosphere.......what a remarkable journey it was and this is just the beginning for Holdvölgy.  I really hope we will start seeing more Holdvölgy wines on restaurant wine lists - they have a very unique identity about them!