The Pannonian Basin knows nothing of modern borders. This ancient seabed stretches from Austria through Hungary into Slovenia and Croatia, creating one of Europe's most distinctive wine regions. Until 1920, Roland Velich's family vineyards in Burgenland were actually in Hungary—a fact that explains why he's obsessed with reuniting these artificially separated wine cultures.

Hidden Treasures is Velich’s project to spotlight brilliant Hungarian vignerons who share his philosophy: indigenous grapes, native yeasts, minimal intervention, maximum terroir. Each release is numbered by region. No. 1 was Tokaj. No. 2 was Somló. This No. 3 comes from Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake and one of its most unique terroirs.

The winemaker is Philipp Oser, a Swiss transplant who founded Villa Tolnay in 2004. His vineyards climb Csobánc hill—the remains of a volcanic mountain now surrounded by sedimentary deposits from the prehistoric Pannonian Sea. The basalt soils here are so unforgiving, their wines crackle with electricity. Oser planted Furmint (Hungary's noble white grape) and Riesling, treating them with the reverence usually reserved for Grand Cru Burgundy.

The winemaking reads like a manifesto against industrial wine: spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, aging in used Stockinger foudres and old Hungarian oak, zero additives, minimal sulfur. As Velich puts it: “The world of wine is so fed up with uniform wines...Fast money creates fast wines, and there it is, the fast wine to go with our fast food.”

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• Volcanic Lightning: Those basalt soils from an ancient volcano give this wine an arresting minerality you can feel. Stone fruit flavors like peach, apricot, and mirabelle plum ride a mineral wave through the finish.
  

• Hidden History: Before phylloxera and two world wars, Hungarian wines were some of Europe's most prized bottles. This wine tastes like what we lost—complex, layered, mysterious, the kind of thing that led critic David Shildknecht to say, “One sip is an Oz experience.”
  

• The 2021 Magic: Velich’s importer calls this “the most exciting bottling yet.” The balance between juicy acidity, white flowers, and that signature mineral saltiness is pitch-perfect. It drinks beautifully now but has the bones to age for a decade.
  

• The Velich Touch: When the man who elevated Blaufränkisch from curiosity to cult status puts his name on a project, the trade pays attention. His Hidden Treasures are becoming harder to find than his already-allocated Moric reds.

HOW TO SERVE IT

• Serve well-chilled at 45-48°F white wine stems.
  

• Drink now through 2031. While it's singing today, Furmint has a track record of developing honeyed complexity with age.
  

• Perfect with anything from the sea—grilled whole fish, oysters, hamachi crudo. Also brilliant with roast chicken or pork schnitzel with herbs.