Imagine you’re a poker player on the big stage for the first time in your career, and you find yourself being forced to play one of the most abysmal hands in Texas Hold ’Em: 2-7 off suit. The wine equivalent is what proprietor Géza Lenkey Jr. was faced with in his first solo vintage—but instead of folding the hand nature dealt him, he persevered and emerged with a dazzling, one-in-a-million wine that has no business existing.
Today’s wild and dry Hungarian blend of Furmint, Hárslevelű and Sárgamuskotály, was aptly named “Túlélő” (“survivor”) because of the harsh circumstances in which it was born. Mother Nature was cruel to Lenkey’s Tokaj crop in 2008: He had to contend with frequent downpours and aggressive vine disease which decimated nearly all of the estate’s ten hectares of fruit. However, his small team scoured the vineyards in search of healthy grapes, a slow and arduous process that yielded enough for exactly 268 cases of hauntingly beautiful, savory, aromatic dry white wine. Now with 13 years of age under its belt, this wine is a serious show-stopper, the rare sort that deserves to be shared and enjoyed with those who can appreciate Lenkey’s fearlessness in the vineyard and genius in the cellar.
Founded in 1999 by Géza Lenkey Sr., Lenkey Pinceszet is a family-owned winery with holdings across seven vineyards and 15 parcels in the Tokaj sub-regions of Mád and Bodrogkeresztúr. In 2005, the estate discontinued the use of all pesticides and herbicides, becoming one of the first in Hungary to receive organic certification a decade later. When Géza Jr. took over for his father in 2007, he continued his father’s commitment to producing vegan, minimal-intervention natural wine, relying on spontaneous fermentation and using as little sulfur as possible, if any. Géza Jr. has also taken to experimenting with aging times for his dry white wines, a rare practice among Tokaji producers, which, as demonstrated by today’s wine, can produce extraordinary results. The fruit for Túlélő comes from a wide swath of vineyards across Lenkey’s holdings throughout Tokaj, each with its own unique terroir signature but linked by a common thread of clay-based volcanic soil, rich in basalt and limestone.
After a gentle pressing of whole clusters, natural fermentation with native yeast kicks things off for this blend of 60% Furmint, 30% Hárslevelű, and 10% Sárgamuskotály. The wine aged on its lees, unstirred, for seven months in second-use 500-liter Hungarian oak barrels, followed by three years of aging in bottle (unfined, lightly filtered), allowing the rich, layered, and deeply nuanced secondary characteristics we see today to emerge.
Deep goldenrod yellow in the glass, flecked with shimmering amber, today’s wine is an unusual beauty that unfurls intoxicating aromas of petrol, smoke, and honey—redolent of a great long-aged vintage of dry Mosel Riesling. The racy, alluring palate is alive with notes of bruised Bosc pear, wild green herbs, dried mango and apricot, overripe green apple, lemon, and tangerine, perfumed with bergamot oil and lavender. Earthy shades of hay and lanolin complement “Túlélő’s” waxy viscosity, lifted by a refreshing burst of herbal, saline acidity. Despite its considerable age, today’s wine shows plenty of youthful energy and verve, all the way through to the long and satisfying finish.
Between the wine’s captivating aromatics, generous texture, and vivid acidity, it’s pretty much a one-size-fits-all wine when it comes to food pairing. It’s certainly a sheer delight on its own, as a vino di meditazione, but you could drink this with anything from foie gras to chicken paprikash to sweet-and-savory Asian or Moroccan dishes—even though there’s hardly any residual sugar here, the viscous texture is a great foil to spicy flavors. This recipe for Kabocha squash and pork stir-fry would work perfectly with all of the elements in the wine. Serve it between 45-50 degrees in all-purpose stems and watch the complex aromas/flavors evolve throughout the course of an evening with great food and friends.