Well here it is later, and I’m just back from tasting some beautiful Grand Cru Classe vintages of Chateau de Figeac, wow. But I have to say that the blends we tried last night from St Andrea have enormous potential and at a tiny fraction of the price. As a renowned winery owner said recently, great Bordeaux will be the benchmark of wine for the next 100 years, and that may be so, but the world of wine is growing, and ancient regions in Hungary, for example, are being rediscovered and are beginning to receive the recognition they deserve. Interestingly, the Lőrincz family are striking a balance between international varieties like Cabernets and Pinot Noir without losing sight of their ancient heritage so rudely interrupted when Hungary chose the wrong side in both world wars and so fell fallow for nealrly two generations. Most of their plantings are still quite young, but guided by the passionate and charismatic father & son team, beautiful expressions are already emerging that nod toward the French benchmarks but offer dimensions of interest delivered by Kekfrankos, an autocthonic variety from Hungary that we had all best learn to recognize along with Hungarian Cabernet Franc, which many are now saying is the best CF in the world.

Finally, it is such finely crafted departures from regional and varietal typicity which continue to make wine tasting so facinating.

Big thanks to Gyula Weeber for bringing St Andrea to Taiwan. Check his stand at the wine fair in Taipei this weekend.