Grape Varieties

Chardonnay is the variety with which Törley has built its reputation in Etyek-Buda. According to the house, Törley Chardonnay Brut is 100 percent this variety, with grapes sourced from the Etyek-Buda region. This makes it a Blanc de Blancs, meaning a sparkling wine made entirely from white grapes.

Chardonnay works well as a base wine because it retains plenty of acidity and rarely imposes strong flavors of its own. That leaves room for the yeast, bottle aging, and dosage to set the tone. In the glass, this translates to citrus and apple, with brioche notes emerging over time.

Its model, Champagne, relies mainly on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier. Of these, Chardonnay is the variety that has become especially at home in Etyek. Those wanting to learn about the two red varieties can find them compared under Pinot Noir.

Hungary has other sparkling wine regions, each with its own permitted grape varieties. If a region such as Tokaj appears alongside "Pezsgő" on the label, the wine is bottle-fermented and follows its own rules on permitted grapes and lees aging.

In the Somló region, on volcanic soil, József Kreinbacher started his winery in 2002 and filled his first Pezsgő in 2014. Hungarian varieties such as Furmint grow there, giving a sparkling wine a very different character from the Chardonnay of Etyek.

For Budafok, Chardonnay therefore remains the variety of choice. It brings the freshness that comes from Etyek's limestone sites, and in the cellar it matures into what the house of Törley has aimed for since 1882: a dry, clear Pezsgő.