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Muzsla gem
06/17/2025
Dániel Ercsey2025 June 17.
A small estate, but some of its wines shine like pearls. The Árendás winery in Muzsla is only one and a half hectares, a real hobby estate, with all its childhood illnesses and enthusiasm. It's a shame that many more people don't know about it, because it deserves more attention!
I was judging the wines at the Danube Wine Challenge at Chateau Bela, or Ullmann Castle in Béla, when I received a message from Zsolt Árendás. You see, I'm in the neighborhood and although we've never met in person, I don't feel like visiting them. I cancelled the afternoon program with a light heart, as it led to a familiar winery and I already cycled over to the neighboring Muzsla, which is at least an eight-minute drive from Béla, even among siblings…
The estate center is a renovated farmhouse, the wines are ripening scattered in various cellars, although there are still plans for a small expansion, precisely because of the wines. - Will there be a cellar? - I ask the host, after he has escorted me from the parking lot to the cooled tasting room. - God forbid! This hobby of mine is already quite expensive, I would rather invest the money in grafts instead of a cellar. - It also quickly turns out that there is only one vine from the one and a half hectares mentioned on the website, but the graft has already been ordered for the remaining half hectare. - What did you plant? - Dunajt. - My eyes widen with surprise, but Zsolt just smiles. - Then you will taste it at the end of the line and you will understand!
Irsai Olivér 2024
Pale lemon color. Fragrant, a little rose water, patchouli, soap. Tasted medium body, lively acids, lemon, green apple flavor, with a little white flower, jasmine, rose. The finish is bone dry and green apple, wolf apple. Super, lively. 85/100 points
Rhine Riesling 2024
Pale lemon color. Pear, lemon, green apple in the aroma, with some white flower. Tasted medium body, elegant acid structure, pear, white flowers, ripe apple in the taste. Succulent, in the finish, along with some green apple, lemon peel also appears. Refreshing bitter finish. 87/100 points
The small estate was founded in 2002 by the head of the family, and since then it has been developing steadily, or at least trying to. - At first I wanted to do everything perfectly, I was obsessed with cleanliness and hygiene. Then I was also touched by the natural line, I started to ferment spontaneously, I thought wild yeasts would save the world. Then, after the fluctuations, everything has slowly straightened out now. Some things ferment spontaneously and some things we add special yeast to, because otherwise the result would not be the one we want to see.
The small winery produces 4,000 bottles a year, if it turns out that way, they will also sell some grapes, but there is no question of river wine. - Unfortunately, here too, you can feel that there is no real middle class, the middle shelf is missing - says Zsolt. - We sell two things, Irsait and semi-sweet Dunajt, but between the two there is nothing but a vacuum, a black hole.
Rosé 2024 (cabernet sauvignon)
A deeper raspberry color than medium. Sweet red berries in the aroma, but no tutti frutti. Tasted, full-bodied, round acids, flowing bulk, with a sweetish maturity, but without jammyness. The pepperiness of the cabernet also shows in the finish. Perhaps it would be even better with barrel aging. 87/100 points
PetNat cabernet sauvignon rosé 2024
Ripe, deep raspberry color. Sweet red berries and a little biscuity yeastiness on the nose. Nice foam, slightly rustic acids, tannins. Exciting bitterness at the end of the sip. The alcohol warms up a little at the end. 85/100 points
- There is no rain in Muzslán, it beats Nyergesújfalu, comes across the Danube, but the Hegyfarok turns it around and takes it towards Garam. Let's just say there is no ice in return. - This is a brief description of the lack of precipitation, but partly thanks to this, the aforementioned Dunaj ripens every year, in fact, it ripens at the end of September, so that it typically has no fungal diseases. - We made a semi-sweet red wine from Dunaj for the first time in 2020, and then I realized that this is indeed a lovable style, but I will fill it and you will see! - As the bottle is brought out, I also learn in advance that the public has caught on to this style in a few years, and moreover, with some snacks at the tastings, the wine can still sell well. - They hum that the Rhine is beautiful, that the rosé is exciting, that the Petnat is funky, but in the end they always say that "then I would take an Irsai and a Dunaj". This is the money that can be invested back, and let's face it, this is not the last aspect.
Dunaj 2022 (8 months Kalina new barrel, dry)
Deep purple color with black seeds. The aroma is chocolate, dried plums, black cherries, tanned leather, cedar, sweet spices. Tasting: full-bodied, nice acidity, silky tannins, the aroma is repeated in the taste, with some blackberry jam, plum jam, chocolate and cinnamon. The finish is long. 90/100 points
Dunaj 2023 (32g sugar, 16.5%)
Mid-black color, like a vranac, with purple-purple reflexes. Blackberry jam, blackcurrant jam, plum jam, chocolate, mint, star anise in the aroma. Tasting: full-bodied, round acids, silky but firm tannins, fruity-jam flavors, with a spicy background.