Márga Furmint – St. Donát
Szent Donát started producing organic wine in 2017, and by 2020 they were farming organically on the entire estate. The winery also takes great care in the cellar to make its wines with minimal intervention, without added sulfur or additives, and mostly bottled without any clarification or filtration. Olaszrizling is grown all over Hungary, but it has a special affinity with the northern side of Lake Balaton, where it’s enjoyed as an easy-drinking wine by summer vacationers, either on its own or with a splash of soda water (to make it a fröccs). This wine is classified as a hegybor (“hill wine”), meaning that the grapes are all grown on one hill in the village of Csopak, but from multiple different vineyard parcels: Slikker, Nagykút, Hegyalja, Kishegy, and Berekhát. This wine has a special harmony due to the multiple different harvests from the different vineyards, as well as the blend of grapes from red sandstone and marl soils. Szent Donát makes this wine every year, and it is a classic northern Balaton Olaszrizling—refreshing, fruity, and crisp—but too good to add soda water to! The wines from each vineyard were fermented and separately blended in March. This is a crystal-clear wine, which is exceedingly easy and pleasant to drink, yet also complex. It has a moderate acidity, which is followed by a dry finish, which is at the same time caramel-like, mineral, and flinty. The wine has a slight bitterness that is typical to Olaszrizling, as well as a yoghurt creaminess, and flavors of almonds, peach, apple, citrus, and green walnuts. This wine is great with seafood, oysters, and cheese.
6,190 Ft
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In stock
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*Prices shown include Hungarian VAT (27%). Final prices are calculated based on the VAT of your shipping country.
Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, is the closest that landlocked Hungary has to a sea. The lake moderates the climate of the surrounding countryside—making it not only a favorite destination for vacationers, but also a beneficial climate for viticulture.
Located on the northern shore of the lake, Balaton-Csopak is one of districts with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status within the greater Balaton wine region PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). The Balaton-Csopak district also includes the sub-region Tihany—an idyllic peninsula with an imposing abbey—which is Hungary’s smallest PDO.
Viticulture was most likely practiced in the region before the Romans arrived, and it then flourished within the Roman province of Pannonia. During the region’s heyday in the early 19th century, Balatonfüred was the most desirable holiday destination on the lake, and the wines were equally famous. Today the region comprises about 2,000 hectares of vineyards, which is significantly less than in the past since much prime vineyard land has been lost to holiday construction.
The region is almost exclusively white wine country today, and Olaszrizling is the king in Balatonfüred and Csopak.
The region is almost exclusively white wine country today, and Olaszrizling is the king in Balatonfüred and Csopak.
Both towns and their associated communities have their own organizations to promote the variety and raise its quality. The Csopak Codex is an independent origin and trademark protection system with the strictest requirements of any in Hungary regarding viticulture and vinification. It covers wines from 30 vineyards of five communities and has two levels—village and vineyard-selected wines. Balatonfüred also has its own association, Rizling Generation, who are working towards a similar system.
However, the Tihany peninsula effectively divides the region in two, and this is red wine country. Only red and rosé may be produced from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kékfrankos, and Merlot on the volcanic soils of the tiny 95-hectare PDO. Moreover, Kékfrankos is making inroads in the region and challenging white varieties’ dominance, with elegant wines being produced on its marl and limestone-rich soils.
Other important varieties in the region include Szürkebarát (aka Pinot Gris) and Chardonnay. Furmint, known locally as Szigeti, which used to be widely planted, is beginning to make a comeback.
The Kovács family has deep roots at Lake Balaton and the nearby Káli Basin region, having been involved in making wine there for centuries. They founded the Szent Donát Estate in 1994, located in Csopak, a lovely village on the northern side of the lake (where they also have a restaurant). The whole family is involved in running the winery and its about 15 hectares of vineyards, with Tamas Kovács—the next generation—taking the lead as winemaker.
There is minimal intervention during the winemaking process, and since 2015 Szent Donát has been officially organic. Their vineyards are located in some of the prime areas in Csopak, the Tihany peninsula, and the Kál Basin. Tamás Kovács is one of the leaders in the Codex of Csopak, an independent trademark protection system guaranteeing quality, which was created jointly by the region’s leading producers.
| Country | 1-3 bottles | 4-6 bottles | 7-12 bottles | 13-15 bottles | 16-18 bottles | 19-24 bottles | 25-27 bottles | 28-30 bottles | 31-36 bottles | 37 or more bottles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 7,800 Ft | 8,300 Ft | 9,500 Ft | 17,300 Ft | 17,800 Ft | 19,000 Ft | 26,800 Ft | 27,300 Ft | 35,600 Ft | 28,500 Ft |
| Belgium | 10,200 Ft | 10,500 Ft | 12,200 Ft | 22,400 Ft | 22,700 Ft | 24,400 Ft | 34,600 Ft | 34,900 Ft | 45,400 Ft | 36,600 Ft |
| Bulgaria | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Croatia | 10,200 Ft | 10,500 Ft | 12,200 Ft | 22,400 Ft | 22,700 Ft | 24,400 Ft | 34,600 Ft | 34,900 Ft | 45,400 Ft | 36,600 Ft |
| Czech Republic | 7,800 Ft | 8,300 Ft | 9,500 Ft | 17,300 Ft | 17,800 Ft | 19,000 Ft | 26,800 Ft | 27,300 Ft | 35,600 Ft | 28,500 Ft |
| Denmark | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Estonia | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Finland | 19,900 Ft | 21,200 Ft | 23,800 Ft | 43,700 Ft | 45,000 Ft | 47,600 Ft | 67,500 Ft | 68,800 Ft | 90,000 Ft | 71,400 Ft |
| France | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Germany | 7,800 Ft | 8,300 Ft | 9,500 Ft | 17,300 Ft | 17,800 Ft | 19,000 Ft | 26,800 Ft | 27,300 Ft | 35,600 Ft | 28,500 Ft |
| Greece (mainland) | 19,900 Ft | 21,200 Ft | 23,800 Ft | 43,700 Ft | 45,000 Ft | 47,600 Ft | 67,500 Ft | 68,800 Ft | 90,000 Ft | 71,400 Ft |
| Hungary (outside of Budapest) | 4,000 Ft | 4,000 Ft | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Hungary (Budapest) | 4,000 Ft (free for orders over 20,000 Ft) | 4,000 Ft (free for orders over 20,000 Ft) | 4,000 Ft (free for orders over 20,000 Ft) | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Ireland | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Italy | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Latvia | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Lithuania | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Luxembourg | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| Netherlands | 10,200 Ft | 10,500 Ft | 12,200 Ft | 22,400 Ft | 22,700 Ft | 24,400 Ft | 34,600 Ft | 34,900 Ft | 45,400 Ft | 36,600 Ft |
| Poland | 7,800 Ft | 8,300 Ft | 9,500 Ft | 17,300 Ft | 17,800 Ft | 19,000 Ft | 26,800 Ft | 27,300 Ft | 35,600 Ft | 28,500 Ft |
| Portugal | 19,900 Ft | 21,200 Ft | 23,800 Ft | 43,700 Ft | 45,000 Ft | 47,600 Ft | 67,500 Ft | 68,800 Ft | 90,000 Ft | 71,400 Ft |
| Romania | 10,200 Ft | 10,500 Ft | 12,200 Ft | 22,400 Ft | 22,700 Ft | 24,400 Ft | 34,600 Ft | 34,900 Ft | 45,400 Ft | 36,600 Ft |
| Slovakia | 7,800 Ft | 8,300 Ft | 9,500 Ft | 17,300 Ft | 17,800 Ft | 19,000 Ft | 26,800 Ft | 27,300 Ft | 35,600 Ft | 28,500 Ft |
| Slovenia | 10,200 Ft | 10,500 Ft | 12,200 Ft | 22,400 Ft | 22,700 Ft | 24,400 Ft | 34,600 Ft | 34,900 Ft | 45,400 Ft | 36,600 Ft |
| Spain | 19,900 Ft | 21,200 Ft | 23,800 Ft | 43,700 Ft | 45,000 Ft | 47,600 Ft | 67,500 Ft | 68,800 Ft | 90,000 Ft | 71,400 Ft |
| Sweden | 13,800 Ft | 14,500 Ft | 15,900 Ft | 29,700 Ft | 30,400 Ft | 31,800 Ft | 45,600 Ft | 46,300 Ft | 60,800 Ft | 47,700 Ft |
| UK | See instructions |
