Poured the 2019 Bott Frigyes Muzsla with it. Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc off a hill above the Danube in southern Slovakia. Six days in open vats with what they call the hamburger method (layers of foot-trodden whole clusters and whole berries, semi-carbonic), then 18 months on the lees in old barrels, bottled unfiltered.
Golden in the glass, showing its age. Dried stone fruit, pear sliding into apple, dried flowers on the nose. Soft and round on the palate, but the acid is high and keeps pulling you back for another sip. The lees are what tie the nose and the palate together.
Here's what I keep thinking about. A dish and a pairing get built the same way. Half of it is planned, half of it is decided in the moment.
The fermented peppers were a call I made weeks ago. You can't rush a ferment. You set it up right and you wait. Same with a bottle like this. Someone decided years ago this wine would sit 18 months on its lees, and time did the rest. Fun part, 2019 was only the second vintage of Muzsla. The family took years working out their style before they made it.
But the char on the asparagus, how much lemon goes on the cod, how heavy the hummus goes down, that all happens at the stove, tasting as you go. And that's where the pairing actually lands. The acid cuts through the ferment and the lemon, the lees texture sits right on the hummus, the dried fruit meets the sweetness of the roasted peppers.
Plan for the long game, then stay present enough to adjust when it's right in front of you. Works in the kitchen. Works with Bitcoin too.
Low time preference, but you still taste as you go.
