Csókaszölö, Bussay

Csókaszölö is a rare, ancient Hungarian variety, which is experiencing a small revival. In addition to Bussay, there are just a handful of other producers who grow Csókaszölö. Like several other Hungarian grape varieties which have been revived in the past decades, Csókaszölö owes its comeback to winemaker József Szentesi in the Etyek-Buda region. Szentesi has a passion for planting old Hungarian varieties, and then sharing them with other wineries. In 2004 Szentesi was the first winery to commercially produce Csókaszölö after almost 150 years. Bussay was next. Csóka means jackdaw (a type of bird) and szölö means wine. Its name comes from the fact that, like the bird, the berries have an almost black color. The Bussay winery has just 0.7 hectares of Csókaszölö planted, and only produces one barrel of it every year. It was the favorite variety of the late Dr. Laszló Bussay, who founded the Bussay Winery. These days Dr. Dorottya Bussay, Laszló’s daughter, runs the winery, following her father’s vision. She also fell in love with Csókaszölö, even though it is very difficult to grow, due to its sensitivity to vine diseases. This wine was spontaneously fermented in an open tank. Two-thirds of it was aged for 10 months in a 1,000 liter previously-used oak cask, and the rest was aged in stainless steel tanks. In the glass, this wine has a purple color and aromas of violets, cherries, and blood oranges. On the palate, it is crisp, fresh, and juicy. It has a nice spiciness, with blood orange and sour cherry flavors.