It’s spring and Eger is calling

Events in March

Eger is abuzz with cultural and gastronomic events. It also has a rich heritage which can be seen in its architecture and is, of course, the centre of one of Hungary’s most renowned wine regions. A wealth of gastronomic and music events as well as various festivals await visitors this spring.

Members of the Eger Wine Workshop are also hosting a number of interesting events: wine tastings, cellar visits, wine dinners and even markets.

14 March – Tóth Ferenc Winery – Wine and chocolate tasting

This evening will appeal to the chocolate lovers among us: eight different types of chocolate will be paired with eight different wines in the interest of finding the ideal synergy. What might tickle your fancy: the 2015 Kadarka matched with São Tomé dark chocolate, black sesame seed and lyophilised raspberries or the 2011 Cabernet Franc matched with Mexican dark chocolate, smoked salt and caramelised almonds?

The evening will be hosted by Katalin Tóth, manager of the Tóth Ferenc Winery, Viktória Szeleczky Takács, founder and creative artist of Fabric Csokoládé and Adél Bernáth-Ulcz, an expert at CsokiLaBor.

15 March – Launch of Egri Csillag

Egri Csillag became an overnight success a few years ago and turned into one of Eger’s favourite brands. This white blend can either be a light, fruity everyday wine or a substantial, oak-aged wine. The Hungarian National Holiday marks the day each year when visitors can taste the new Egri Csillag vintage from almost twenty wineries, participate in the traditional castle knights procession, enjoy concerts and continue celebrating into the night.

20 March – Gál Tibor Fúzió – Fúzió Wednesday | Béla Vincze’s world

This evening event at Gál Tibor’s Fúzió explores the world and career of Béla Vincze, not just through his own wines but also through other things which come from different wineries but are connected to his stories. So guests can taste wines from other Hungarian and foreign producers. The event will be hosted by Veronika Gál.

21 March – Wine&Tech meetup Eger

How does the viticulturist-oenologist profession relate to modern technological inventions? What’s available and what should you consider for small or large wineries? The panel of guests will explain how different equipment is used in local vineyards and cellars. SmartVineyard will introduce their Vineguard device and startup Vinometer will introduce their wine-tasting app for smart phones. Young Eger winemakers will analyse the current Wine&Tech scene during a roundtable discussion.

23 March – Gál Tibor Fúzió – Slow Market

Slow Market is the modern day equivalent of a traditional fair. It gives visitors the chance to meet producers, artists and winemakers, chat with them and browse, taste and buy products, all in the spirit of Slow Living, i.e. calmly and at their own pace. This is a free monthly event offering natural, fresh, special delicacies, original folk and contemporary art and, of course, an exhilarating spring atmosphere

30-31 March – Hungarikum Picnic in Szépasszony Valley

Eger Bikavér has been declared a “hungarikum”, and Szépasszony Valley is the favourite meeting point for wine lovers visiting Eger. As in previous years, Eger has once again invited all the “hungarikums” to join in a common festival, so that they can showcase the best culinary products that Hungary has to offer in one place – Hungary’s largest and perhaps best-known historical row of cellars. As well as food and wine, there will also be concerts, folk art and entertainment for the kids.

For more information, please visit the Egri Bor Most Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/egribormost/

* based on a press release from Wineglass Communication, photos by Attila Busák

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Bikavér – a work in progress

Every year, the winemakers of Szekszárd and Eger present their Bikavérs in a joint tasting in Budapest. This year saw its sixth edition with winemakers from both regions presenting their current and, in some cases older, vintages of this regional speciality. The two regions are working together to promote this most Hungarian brand and the Bikavér Párbaj is a good opportunity to taste wines from the two regions side by side.

What is Bikavér anyway?

Now, if you’re not from Hungary, your first question might be ’What is Bikavér anyway?’ And how can it be the regional speciality of two distinct wine regions which are not even located next to each other?

Both regions lay claim to the term Bikavér for their full-bodied, fiery red blends based on Kékfrankos (aka Blaufränkisch). Naturally, they argue, hopefully good naturedly nowadays, about who used the name first.

What’s in a name?

Eger have an appealing tale about how their wine got its name based on a story in which defenders of its citadel drank up the citadel’s red wine stores when they feared they were about to be overrun by the Turks. Legend has it that the soldiers were so emboldened by the wine, i.e. drunk, that they fought with surprising aggression and saw off the Turks, who reported that the Hungarians had been mixing bull’s blood with their wine to give them courage. Bikavér is the Hungarian for bull’s blood – the name that the wine was marketed with in English-speaking countries in the past.

Szeskszárd’s story is a little less romantic, simply that János Garai, an eminent Hungarian poet praised the colour of Szekszárd’s red wine in one of his verses, likening it to bull’s blood.

So, both regions still use the name for their red blends. It’s a blend based on Kékfrankos (minimum 40% in Szekszárd, and between 30 and 60% in Eger). Szekszárd also requires minimum 5% Kadarka. The rest of the blend in both regions is then made up of a combination of other permitted black varieties. This tends to be a bit more rational and restricted in Szekszárd, the smaller of the two regions, and is generally Bordeaux varieties, such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Heimann winery also add a dash of Sagrantino to theirs! Eger, however, has a huge range of permitted varieties and hence Bikavér here could contain Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Blauburger, Turan, Syrah and Menoir, to name but a few.

A kaleidoscope of styles

As you can imagine, this does not lead to a particularly uniform image of the style, especially when you then add in the various quality levels defined in each region. Eger has three – klassikus, superior and grand superior – whereas Szekszárd has two – standard and reserve. Let’s not even mention the sea of substandard, bottom-shelf wine pumped out by many large producers, still churning out the same poor quality wine that got Bull’s Blood a bad name in past decades.

In search of a style

Prominent wine journalists, educators and other experts meet each year prior to the tasting in a panel chaired by Gabriella Mészaros to discuss an aspect relating to Bikavér or one of the wine regions. In the past, we’ve considered how well modern Bikavérs are ageing, styles of Kadarka and rosé. This year, we looked at eight wines from the 2016 vintage (a cool year with lots of rain, but a consistent summer without any severe heatwaves), four from each wine region, to see how much progress is being made with consistency in terms of quality and style.

One of the main issues of our session was brand-building and the fact that to build a brand, you need both reliable quality and consistency. The situation regarding consistency is improving with winemakers tasting together more often. This is naturally easier in Szekszárd where there are fewer winemakers, fewer hectares and fewer varieties, making finding a direction somewhat easier than in Eger. Eger also has a bigger issue with quality as it is home to large producers, some relics of the Communist era, who are responsible for churning out the cheap, poor-quality plonk referred to above. This also creates a problem for the brand as it stretches from bottom-shelf quality up to prestitious, well-crafted wines commanding high prices. Could the lower quality wines be somehow rebranded, e.g. to Óvörös, if some kind of purity and reliability could be guaranteed, posits Gabriella.

Changes for the better

The style of the wines is clearly changing from the tannic, oak bombs of the past, to fruitier, more elegant styles. This is helped by the fact that consumers are also becoming more discerning and their tastes are changing. While there are of course some who still seek the tannin rush, and a number of winemakers who cater to this, more people are looking for fruit-forward wines with some finesse. Progress has clearly been made in this area.

Terroir wine?

Another question which arose was whether Bikavér should be linked to terroir. Of course, there is already clearly a difference in style between the two regions. Egri Bikavérs are generally creamier, more tannic and more structured, despite lying further north. Szekszárdi Bikavérs are typically softer, more textured and leaner thanks to its loess soils and warm. dry summers. Beyond this, vineyard-selected wines come into play too, with three of the wines tasted coming from specified vineyards.

The wines

Our first pair of standard Bikavérs demonstrated the fact that the wines are becoming less oaky and more fruit forward, with a greater focus on good acidity. However, they were very different indeed, with Tibor Gál’s TITI clearly showing its Pinot Noir component. The Takler Bikavér was far more elegant and less heavy-handed with oak than in the past.

The second pair from Szent Gaál and Nimrod Kovács (Rhapsody) were demonstrably more oaky. The lesson here being how the quality of the oak and its integration can come to dominate the wine if there is insufficient fruit behind it or the oak is of poor quality. The fruit in the Szent Gaál wine was unfortunately masked by the grippy tannins of the oak, whereas the fruit concentration of the Rhapsody was able to stand up to the clearly high-quality oak.

The third pair clearly showed how important terroir is for Bikavér with the Péter Vida’s Szekszárdi Bikavér demonstrating the soft, lean elegance of Szekszárd and St Andrea’s Hangács vineyard-selection (Egri Bikavér Superior) showing what Eger, and in particular the Hangács vineyard, is capable in terms of concentration and creaminess.

The final pair was a good illustration of what top Bikavérs aspire to. The Sebestyén Csilla and Csaba Ivan Völgy Szekszárdi Bikavér went head to head with the St Andrea Merengő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior. The Sebestyén Bikavér was felt to come close to representing a Bikavér benchmark – with ripe, spicy fruit, elegance, vibrancy, balance, complexity and great length. The Merengő, on the other hand, was a clear representation that Eger wines generally take longer to be approachable than those from Szekszárd. It also demonstrated the difference between the Hangács and Merengő vineyards, in that the Merengő wines tend to need more time before their optimal drinking window.

The tasting bore out much of what we had discussed at the beginning – that the wines are generally improving in quality and something resembling a style is now beginning to emerge, especially in Szekszárd, that showcases this Kékfrankos-based blend. The wines are becoming more elegant and better-quality oak is being used more intelligently. However, Bikavér is still far away from having a clear enough style and consistent quality (which I saw later in the grand tasting in particular) for it to be considered a brand in its own right, especially internationally.

Bikavér is still very much a work in progress, but progress is being made.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Bikavér’s past, present and future, you can read about it in my WineSofa article from two years ago, based on the 2016 discussions.

Women winemakers out in force on International Women’s Day

The weaker sex? Certainly not!

Tomorrow, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, and in celebration of all women, 32 Hungarian women winemakers from 12 wine regions will present 104 wines to visitors of the Gyengébb? Nem! Cherchez la Femme wine show at the Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge.

This is the second time that the event has been organised by Edit Szabó of Borsmenta. The idea grew out of her book Gyengébb? Nem! Roughly translated, this means ’The weaker sex? No!’ It relates the stories of 26 women winemakers in Hungary and how they cope in a traditionally male-dominated industry, hence the title.

The winemakers will bring along some of their brand new novelties for curious wine lovers. For example, Katalin Toth will present their 2018 Kadarka Siller, Andrea Gere their 2017 Fekete Járdovány and Syrah, Júlia Dóra Molnár from Csendes Dűlő their 2017 premium Kéknyelű and Éva Gálné Dignisz will show their hot-off-the-press fizz. There’ll also be a couple of pet nats to try from the Szőlő Pincészet and the Heimann Családi Pincészet.

A gentleman, however, will look after the food! Alain Losbar, the Sofitel’s head chef will ensure nobody goes hungry and will delight your taste buds with fresh oysters, ham, cheeses and other French delicacies.

If you’re inspired to travel to the enchanting wine regions the ladies come from, or even beyond, three more ladies, from Wine A’more travel, are on hand to help you fulfil your inspirations with their offer of wine trips and tastings.

All in a good cause

Another reason to come along is the fact that the ladies have waived their fees for the event and thus half a million forints (around €1,600) has already been raised for charity. This total is sure to grow as visitors can also add their contributions in the collection boxes at the event. The monies collected will go to the Anyaoltalmazó Foundation, which helps 75-80 women and children in distress all around the country every year.

Chocolate and cheese-pairing masterclasses

Those who are interested in learning more about what wines to pair with various cheeses and chocolate can also attend two masterclasses. Tickets are available for these at 3,000 forints.

So, if you’ve nothing planned for tomorrow evening, head to the Sofitel to celebrate Women’s Day with a remarkably talented group of women!

When: 8 March 16:00-21:30

Where: Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge

Tickets: 7,000 HUF until midnight tonight, then 8,500 HUF on the door.

Advance tickets available online at: https://tixa.hu/CherchezLaFemme_avagygyengebb_nem?fbclid=IwAR1TaPt8VS6YXDgOuK48plDC0vgIIIKwB5Im406Hg_wDWZq8B9y5ObhEKQc

The price includes wines, nibbles on the winemakers’ tables and water.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2362393133989988/

Participating winemakers:

ANGELIKA ÁRVAY (Árvay Családi Pincészet), ZSUZSANNA BABARCZI (Babarczi Szőlőbirtok és Pince), KATA BADICS (Homoky Pincészet), EDIT BAI (Dereszla Pincészet), NÓRA BARACSKAI (Etyeki Kúria Borgazdaság), SAROLTA BÁRDOS (Tokaj Nobilis), STÉPHANIE BERECZ (Kikelet Pince), BOGLÁRKA BÖJT (Bortársaság), DOROTTYA BUSSAY (Bussay Pincészet), KRISZTINA CSETVEI (Csetvei Pince), MÓNIKA DEBRECZENI (Vylyan Pincészet), BERNADETT DUNAI (Dubicz Pincészet) TÍMEA ÉLESS (Szóló Pincészet), ÉVA GÁLNÉ DIGNISZ (Gál Szőlőbirtok és Pincészet), ANDREA GERE (Gere Attila Pincészete), SUSANN HANAUER, (Wassmann Pince), ÁGNES HEIMANN (Heimann Családi Birtok), ZITA KOVÁCS (Kovács és Lánya Borászat), ZSÓFI LAPOSA (Laposa Birtok), LILLA LATORCZAI-RÁCZ, ENIKŐ LUKA (Luka Pince), ANITA MAGYAR (Hangavári Pincészet), GABRIELLA MÉSZÁROS  (Préselő Pincészet), JÚLIA DÓRA MOLNÁR (Csendes Dűlő Szőlőbirtok), BEÁTA NYÚLNÉ PÜHRA (Nyakas Pincészet), FRUZSINA OSVÁTH (Sauska Borászat), ERIKA RÁCZ (Sanzon Tokaj), JELENA SZAVERCSENKO, (Kern Bor- és Pezsgőház), KATALIN TÓTH (Tóth Ferenc Pincészet), VIVIEN UJVÁRI (Ujvári + Barta Pince), MÁRTA WILLE-BAUMKAUFF (Tokaj Pendits), KATA ZSIRAI (Zsirai Pincészet)

Photos courtesy of Borsmenta, Ferenc Dancsecs and Gábor Vető

 

Jani’s fantastical world

János Bolyki, one of the most personable winemakers in Eger, has launched new labels for his entire range of wine. They continue the light-hearted style of his previous labels. Fantastical creatures and objects grace the colourful hand-drawn labels designed once again by Géza Ipacs.

The Bolyki Pincészet labels have always been considered as a little eccentric, with names like Indián nyár (Indian Summer) or Hazug mókus (Insincere Squirrel), so the new labels continue in the same vein, but add a certain uniformity to the range, with characters and motifs being repeated across the labels. One reason for this is that the winery is cutting down its vast range of 24 wines of last year to focus on a core product line of eight wines. Plus rosé, says János as this always sells better than beer at his festival! The long-term plan is to have only five or six wines They are working increasingly with export, so it’s difficult to communicate so many wines. Their main focus is on Bikavér, as he says that this is what the market is looking for, but the range also includes Királyleanyka, Cabernet Franc, Csillag, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.

They came up with the roots for the new labels a couple of years ago when there was a circus wagon with animals at the winery, creating a fairy-tale environment for the kids. They decided to follow this direction but selected motifs that had worked in previous incarnations, so 70-80% of the motifs, such as squirrels, rabbits, hippos and zebras, are still the focal point of the colourful, somewhat surreal labels, and they all feature the quarry-like cellar in the background. The back labels weave playful tales and stories, with each wine having its own humorous story, yet linked somehow to the larger picture. He’ll be able to tell these to his kids too, as he and his wife are now expecting their fourth child. He wants the labels to say something about the winery, although he admits that you can only make labels like this if the context is serious, i.e. good wine.

The labels are being changed with the new vintage, so over the next year, Bolyki fans will be able to read the stories of the entire range, as well as taste the new vintage, of course.

János started making wine in 2003 and by 2006 was making enough to start to sell them commercially. His father was always very critical of his wines, never actually saying they were good, but, as János quipped, he was one of their biggest drinkers! He was soon winning awards and then invested in three interconnected cellars in Eger that had previously been a quarry. He lives from his winemaking, but also organises events, such as the popular three-day FesztEger rock festival at the end of May, where János also doubles as a DJ. If you can’t make the festival, then the quirky winery itself is also worth a visit!

*all photos above courtesy of Wineglass Communication

 

Bolyki Meta Téma 2012 Hárslevelű

A medium gold wine with a pronounced nose. Spicy yellow stone fruits, yellow apple, honey, apricot, pear and honeysuckle on the nose. Full bodied, oily and mouth-filling. Delicious!

Hungarian wine word play

A little fun had by some DWCC participants after the conference

bor2bwine

I recently attended the Digital Wine Communication Conference (DWCC2014) in Montreux.

It was a fabulous event, attended by over three hundred wine professionals and enthusiasts. It was a great opportunity to meet some fantastic people, drink some delicious wine, look at some wonderful scenery and learn more about how to abandon my rather luddite tendancies regarding certain social media.

Following the event, I learnt that Hungary was among the top ten countries represented; the others being Switzerland, France, UK, USA, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Austria. I was pleased and surprised by this and commented. This sparked a great little thread with some Hungarian wine word play.

– Great. Hungary was in top ten. Who would have thought!

– We had a very strong presence from Tokaj which was brilliant … or maybe it was just people trying to get “free” wifi?

– What a noble-rotten thing to say

– It…

View original post 230 more words

Wonderful wines of St Andrea

St Andrea is a vineyard from the Eger region, which fashions some delicious wines.

Since they were established in 1999, after György Lőrincz, owner and oenologist, won a local wine competition with a wine he had made for his father and named after his wife, Andrea, they have won many awards and medals at both Hungarian and international wine competitions.

I was delighted to have the chance to taste a wide range of the wines, from quite a variety of vintages, I might add. Especially since Dr György Lőrincz himself presented them to us and gave us some background on the establishment of the vineyard and its development since then.

Ironically the wine with which Gyuri won the local Eger competition in 1999 was a Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape variety he no longer grows.

There were thirteen wines on our tasting list, the majority of which were not from this decade, so we were certainly in for a treat!

We started off with two very different whites: one from 2012 and one from 2003. The colour of the latter was just amazing.

Boldogsagós 2012

A crisp, dry wine with some flowery notes and a good backbone of minerality, clearly demonstrating its terroir. Fresh, with a touch of lemony zest on the palate. Delicious.

A vineyard blend from the ‘Boldogságos’ dülő, consisting of olaszrizling, szürkebarát (that’s pinot grigio to you and me), viognier and sauvignon blanc.

A quick trawl around a couple of wine webshops shows it to be retailing at about 3000 HUF.

Napbor 2003

A luscious deep golden colour in the glass. Aromas of marmalade, honey, peach and quince explode on the nose. It could almost be a Tokaj aszú! Doesn’t disappoint on the palate either – toast, honey, marmalade, vanilla also fill your mouth, with good underlying minerality and a slightly bitter note. Perhaps also a little honeysuckle. And a long, long finish. What a treat. And very fresh for an eleven-year-old Egri white.

A blend of chardonnay, olaszrizling and szürkebarát.

Just discovered it won bronze in the Challenge International du Vin, 2004, Bordeaux.

I’m quite sure you can’t buy this anywhere now, though!

Now for a couple of relatively old Kadarka’s, where we were able to compare two vintages.

Magyalos Kadarka 2007

Medium ruby, more secondary aromas on the nose – tobacco, chocolate, coffee, a hint of pepper and some cherry. A bit sherry like. On the palate, plums, caramel, coffee, cherry. Elegant and long.

Magyalos Kadarka 2005

Very pale in colour, almost amber. Tobacco and toast, caramel, coffee, sour cherry. Taste of aszú grapes. An almost perfume like note. Silky and smooth. Delicious.

Cabernet franc 2002

Currently one of my favourite grapes. Was great to try an older vintage. Medium ruby, a little sediment, but nice legs ;-). Rich chocolate, coffee, tobacco, coal, toast and black fruits on the nose. The palate backed all this up. Long finish. Yum!

Merlot 2003

Unfortunately, one bottle of this was corked and my tasting came from this..

Bikavér 2002

Medium ruby with a bit of sediment. The nose provided a blast of black cherry, chocolate, tobacco and a hint of sherry. The palate also gave a good dose of smoky minerality, leather, cherry liqueur, pepper, spices and coffee. Just like a good ‘bull’s blood’ should be.

Merengő Bikavér 2002

This one fits into the ‘superior’ category of bikavér, rather than just the ‘classico’ like the previous one.

Deeper in colour with a very ‘dark’ nose. Smoky, slatey minerals again with a dose of chocolate and cherry. Elegant, ripe tannins. Oily texture, dense and full-bodied.

Merengő Bikavér 2006

This wine picked up a stack of awards, deservedly, both in Hungary and internationally.

Deep ruby, luscious dark fruits, chocolate and spice both on the nose and the palate. Rounded, well-interated tannins. Smoky and masculine. One to keep.

Merengő Bikavér 2007

Rich terroir wine from the Merengő dülő, full of smoky minerality. Chocolate, black, black fruit and liquorice. Just my kind of wine.

Hangács Bikavér 2008

Medium ruby. Again displaying a large whack of granitic minerality. A dense, complex wine bursting with black fruit.

Áldás Bikavér 2011

Amazingly, this wine is the vineyard’s ‘basic’ bikavér. The nose bursts with fresh, ripe black fruits. Chocolate and plum on the palate. A great, everyday, playful wine to quaff with friends.

(HUF 3250 from St Andrea webshop)

Valóban méltó Pinot noir 2009

Another delicious wine. Why break the trend, eh?

Pale ruby, verging on the transparent. Red, peppery fruit – raspberries and cherries. Mineral, smoky notes coming through once again. Surprise, surprise. Terroir, terroir…

Our tasting list was now at an end, but another bottle was produced, a 2011.

(HUF 7590 from St Andrea webshop)

Valóban méltó Pinot noir 2011

Another example of a spicy, peppery, herbal pinot noir. Elegant and long. Wow

And another ….

Hangács Bikavér 2011

Smoky dark fruits. Elegant and balanced. Black cherry and spice. Granite and that terroir thing again.

What can I say. A fabulous tasting, with not a bad wine in sight, except for the unfortunate corked Merlot. Those who got the uncorked version confirmed it was delicious.

Many thanks to Gyuri and Gabriella Meszaros from Borkollegium for a fabulous evening with some delicious wines. Have now booked up quite a few of my Tuesdays for similar!