A.GERE | Solus | Kopar Dulo | 2018
merlot

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Attila Gere visited Tuscany in 1998 when Tibor Gál was the head winemaker of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, and there he had the chance to sample the legendary Masseto from the barrels. The wine impressed him so much, that from that day, he decided to make a single varietal, single vineyard merlot wine from Villány. The sub-mediterranean climate in the Villány region was identified as the perfect spot for his new project. Kopar vineyard became the chosen place, being the southest vineyard in Hungary – a warm area, enhanced by the stony-rich soils that radiates heat back to the vine during the night, which in turn helps the grapes accumulate the much-desired acidity.

Today we are going to review a single varietal merlot wine from the famous Villány region in the south of Hungary, which is Hungary’s most famous wine region for red wines – Solus Kopar Dulo 2018 by Gere Attila Winery. Merlot is usually regarded as the underdog to the highly priced cabernet sauvignon or cabernet franc varieties, but make no mistake, merlot wine is first class as it is more versatile and ripens earlier than both cabernet grapes, responds well to oak ageing and can be grown in both, cool climate and warm climate with the same success. Solus (which translated from Latin means “unique” and which also contains “sol”, meaning “sun“) is made only in the best vintages with grapes that are sourced from the iconic Kopár vineyard (Dűlő), which is the southernmost hill (Szársomlyó) of the Villány wine region and also of the entire country. It is fermented in large, wooden vats and aged in new, specially tailored hungarian oak barriques for 16 months, followed by at least one year of bottle ageing. Before starting the elevage process for the whole lot, Attila Gere tested separately many different coopers in order to understand which barrel is best suited for the Solus wine, thus creating a specifically tailored barrel, named Larus, that is made of carefully selected, extra tight grain Quercus Petraea oakwood that was seasoned a minimum of 24 months and is uniquely toasted based on a combination of temperature, time and water, which reduces the barrel impact and increases the length and vibration of the flavours in the wine. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: medium-deep garnet color
clarity: hazy garnet shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & noble
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits
__red fruits: red plum | cranberry | redcurrant | sour cherry | goji berry
__black fruits: black plum | black cherry | blackberry | brumble
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earthy | other
__spice: red pepper | cloves | anise | nutmeg
__oak: sun-dried oakwood | cherry tree wood | sweet tobacco | rooibos tea
__earthy: brown soil | clay | loam
__other: wormwood | dried leaves
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: fine
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol
body: round | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: red & black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium+
aftertaste: seedy-velvety

//Scoring
A.GERE | Solus | Kopar Dulo | 2018
variety: merlot
country: Hungary
region: Villány
rating: 94.1

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | can age for 3 to 5 more years
verdict: great | a must try wine

//Prediction
predicted rating: 90

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This is definitely a great wine of Hungary and, with a total of 94.1 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a supple, round and voluptuous merlot wine, definitely one of the finest we have tasted so far: noble, lean and rich – a wine that is almost there, at the summit of its prime form, therefore we would recommend to drink it today or give it another 3 to 5 more years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to develop further complexity and finesse. On the nose it displays an amazing varietal typicity of the merlot grapes, with a mixture of ripe and overripe red & black fruits in the foreground, followed by an oaky-spicy background and a very appealing, earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers mouth-watering acidity, fine-grained tannins and a touch of alcoholic warmth, that showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into a very appealing, velvety-seedy aftertaste. All in all, this is a quite elegant and well structured merlot wine, with well preserved varietal characteristics and a fruity-expressive profile – a wine that will pair nicely with a blueberry-glazed filet mignon. Enjoy!

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