Hárslevelü

Hungarian Wine Royalty

Hárslevelü is a white grape variety grown across Hungary, where it is most famous as a blending component for the better-known Furmint in the dry and sweet wines of the famous Tokaj region.

Flavour

Hárslevelü means “linden leaf” and has a notable perfume of linden, whether blended or made into a varietal wine. Varietal wines are characterful, spicy, and aromatic, with flavours of linden, lemon, yellow apple, hay and white peach.

Style Range

Most Hárslevelü is used to add perfume to blends with grape varieties like Furmint, both in dry wines and the famous noble rot sweet wines of the Tokaj region, which are unctuously sweet and full of apricots and marmalade and honey and…the list could go on!

Varietal Hárslevelü is often made into a dry white wine, deep green-gold in colour, with a full and viscous body, and notable honeyed perfume.

Structure

Hárslevelü is used in the blends of Tokaj to add perfume to the acidity and minerality of Furmint.

There are some examples of varietal Hárslevelü out there, and the best ones show off a viscous, medium to full body, and a deep green-gold colour.

Food Pairings

Dry styles of Hárslevelü work very well with paprika-spiced chicken stews, which is very prevalent in Hungarian cooking.

Sweeter Tokaji wines, using Hárslevelü, can be enjoyed with strong blue cheese. The sweetness of these wines is a great counterpart to the intense saltiness of this cured cheeses.

Growing Regions

HUNGARY
Hárslevelü is grown across the wine regions of Hungary, with slightly different style variations. Wines from Somló are less aromatic, but show more minerality, whereas wines from Villány-Sildós are softer, but more perfumed.

REST OF THE WORLD
Hárslevelü isn’t widely travelled, however, some vineyards are planted over the border in Slovakia, and some have even made it to experimental plots down in South Africa.