A Duo of Hungarian White Wines, with Furmint in Focus
​May 5, 2026

​Furmint, Hungary’s signature wine grape, is fascinating. Literally steeped in over a thousand years of history, it is a chameleon, the grape’s versatility makes so many different styles of wine, sparkling, dry to sweet, white to orange. It’s high acidity and concentration of aromas and flavors yield a mouthwatering wine in any incarnation, but most people know it for its legendary Tokaji Aszú sweet wine, truly nectar of the gods!

Furmint grapes, Courtesy of Hungarian Wines

​Yet the dry Furmint wines can hold their own, with green apple, pear, and citrus fruit notes, complexity comes from the flinty minerality and layered hints of stone fruit on the palate. In their youth, Furmint is more floral and apples, but with its ability to age extremely well, the older wines become more nutty and honeyed. Overall, dry Furmint is a food-friendly wine, channeling its aromatic and zesty profile, it’s a wine that can carry a multi-course meal from start to finish.

​I had the opportunity to sample two different expressions of Furmint, one a blend and the other a 100% expression of the grape.

The St. Andrea Mária Egri Cuvée Grand Superior 2023 is simply stunning, a blend of 56% Chardonnay and 44% Furmint, from the Grand Cru vineyard of Nagy-Eged-Hegy. A study in contrasts, the richness of the wine is balanced by mouthwatering acidity. Aromas of tropical fruits, lime and peach swirl around a core of chalky minerality. Kumquat joins those fruit flavors on the palate, with a hint of salinity, savory notes join a slightly creamy texture and oiliness, the oak spice is well integrated into the elegant finish, that seemingly goes on and on. According to winemaking notes, the wine underwent alcoholic fermentation in new French oak barrels, hence the oak spice, and aged for 10 months in various sizes of Hungarian and French oak barrels. This is a sophisticated Burgundian style wine, so very delicious!

The Samuel Tinon Birtok 2022, 100% Furmint, is a blend of vineyard parcels within the estate, “dűlő Birtok”, translating to the perfect blend of estate crus. This wine is very different from the first, fresh and crisp, with the classic high acidity and aromatic complexity, it’s more mineral and less rich in body. There is that flinty aspect to it, and a saline edge, it’s more floral, with quince and lemon curd notes, expressing structure and power on the finish.

These racy wines deliver the essence of Hungary, if you’re looking for a very different wine tasting experience. The St. Andrea Mária is out of this world, and the Tinon Birtok is electric in its Furmint profile. Both wines are very unique and recommended for their complexity and intensity.