Syrah – Losonci Bálint

The Mátra hills, and the wine region that stretches among them, are about 100 kilometers east of Budapest. Along the highway the region is closer than Eger and Tokaj. But even though Mátra is actually Hungary’s second largest winemaking region—with about 7,500 hectares of vineyards—it’s an under-the-radar region, which many Hungarian wine lover’s haven’t yet explored. It’s also one of the oldest regions, where wine production started way before the Magyars arrived, making it more than 1,000 years old, with an unbroken continuity of wine.

Mátra played an important role in wine production during the Communist era. Large swaths of vineyards were planted here, and the focus in the regional coop was on mass produced table wine. As a result, Mátra accounted for 40 percent of Hungary’s wine export in the 1980s. When the changes happened, the state-owned winery was privatized by a handful of companies which still account for the majority of the region’s production.

In this way, Mátra’s post-Communist wine history is somewhat different from most other Hungarian wine regions. Elsewhere smaller, family-owned businesses took the lead, making small volume, but very high quality, terroir-focused wines. Though large wineries are still dominant, ambitions small producers are starting to make a buzz and are re-thinking and re-branding the region.

Before the phylloxera struck Europe in the 19th century and devastated the wine industry,  Kadarka, Furmint, Góhér, and Purcsin were the region’s signature varieties. When vineyards were replanted in the early 20th century white grapes became more dominant and Kadarka like other old traditional red varieties slowly became insignificant. Today the region’s production is 70 percent white, and the list of grapes grown here is lengthy. Olaszrizling, Irsai Olivér, Hárslevelű, and Szürkebarát are amongst the most important whites, while Kékfrankos, Turán, and Pinot noir are common reds.