Alcohol: 15.5%
Vintage: 2023
Ageability: Now to 2043
Decanting: Yes, 20-30 mins at 11-12C
Serving temperature: 11-13°C
Tasting Notes
Powerful and concentrated, with ripe pear, baked apple and quince layered with honey, beeswax, vanilla and warm spice. The palate is full-bodied and richly textured, combining ripe orchard fruit with formidable acidity and a pronounced saline, volcanic-mineral character. Barrel ageing brings creamy texture and subtle toasted notes, while the wine’s remarkable structure keeps everything firmly in balance. Long, intense and savoury, with lingering notes of quince, honey, spice and smoky minerality.
Nose
Ripe pear • Quince • Beeswax • Honey
Palate
Saline • Mineral • Creamy • Smoky• Salted Kumquat
Food
Crispy pork belly • Salted egg prawns • Oyster omelette • Har cheong gai • Roast duck • Orange chicken
| Fruitiness: |  |
Salted Kumquat fruits |
| Oakiness: |  |
Popcorn on the nose |
| Intensity: | |
BIG |
| Acidity: | |
Laser Sharp |
| Tannins: |  |
No kidding, almost like an orange wine! |
Producer
Tornai -Founded by Endre Tornai in 1946, Tornai is the oldest continuously operating family winery on Somló and one of the defining estates of this remarkable volcanic wine region.
Beginning with less than one hectare, the family estate has grown to around 70 hectares across some of Somló’s most important vineyard sites, including Grófi, Aranyhegy, Szent Ilona and Apátsági. Today, successive generations of the Tornai family continue to combine tradition with modern, precise winemaking.
Tornai has played an important role in preserving and revitalising Somló’s indigenous grape varieties, particularly Juhfark, alongside Furmint and Hárslevelű. These varieties thrive on the mountain’s ancient volcanic soils, producing distinctive wines renowned for their vibrant acidity, pronounced minerality and remarkable ageing potential.
From fresh, fruit-driven estate wines to complex single-vineyard bottlings, Tornai offers a fascinating exploration of one of Hungary’s smallest and most distinctive wine regions — wines shaped unmistakably by the volcanic character of Somló.
