Wines Explained
Wines of Hungary explained to Foreigners by a WSET certified wine connoisseur
Wines of Eger
Eger tasting 2 February 2022
Sometimes called the Burgundy of Hungary, in Eger region there are two distinct soil types: 1. limestone, 2. clay over riolite tuff. The well-known Nagy-Eged grand cru terroir yields serious whites and reds, to rival those of Burgundy. A truly outstanding and versatile region where whites and reds are present in equal proportion and international varieties are grown with the same success like indigenous grapes.
We have tasted 11 wines of which the most memorable were:
Havas és Tímár Franom 2017
Gróf Buttler Viognier and Kadarka 2016. The latter is a rich, ultra-refined wine with characteristic notes of truffles and cep.
Bukolyi bull's blood 2019 - young and fresh red wine based on Kékfrankos, grown organically.
Kovács Nimród's 'Max' Syrah 2016 - rich and outstanding with great balance and a potential of further 10 years, minimum.
Gál Lajos Kántor-tag 2018 - a rich, seductive, fresh white made with Welsch Riesling, in superior quality, concentration and chalky minerality and a very long finish.
We listened to sommelier Szik Mátyás's interview with Gál Tibor jr. about Bull's blood and the future of the wine region. Conclusion was that Nagy-Eged will not cease to be the most refined terroir, even with the effects of global warming quite apparently giving an uplift to the ripeness of Eger's wines, overall.
Earlier tastings
June 2021:
The second is to be prepared for the unusual. As is the region itself, the wines are fabulous. No kidding, just like a fairy tale. Each winery represents a terroir in itself. Expect subtle minerality, salty or flinty, smoky aromas framing the fruit character, according to the qualities of the given parcel. Quality increases tremendously the higher you climb on the monadnock slopes. Let's describe shortly the most outstanding items of the tasting row.
Borbély Tamás - winemaker of the year 2020 - "Karós" Welsch Riesling 2016: a rich, developing wine with great balance and texture and a hint of late harvest character.
Villa Sandahl "Rabbit Periscope" - probably the best in the row with rich, creamy texture, sweet stone fruit, rubber and smoky-salty minerality, great complexity (exotics) and an ethereal finish.
Zsirai Welsch Riesling 2019 (Somló) - very elegant, smoky, flinty minerality and great balanced structure. Good, elaborated, elegant typical fruit character of Welsh Riesling.
Also from Somló hill: Györgykovács Gewürztraminer 2018. Just at the beginning of its approx. 30 years development lifecycle. Luscious, great complexity, crystal clean, cutting-edge fruit character. Salty, discreet minerality adding finesse and elegance. A wine for fine dining to rival the best Gewürz-s of Alsace.
Other great wines tasted: Gilvesy St. George 2019, Istvándy Jenő "Farkastető" Chardonnay 2019, Borbély Rózsakő 2019, Szatmári Vulcanus 2019, Büttner Welsch Riesling 2019, Káli Kövek "Kavics" white 2019.
April 2021:
The tasting focused on North-West Hungary and the chalky soils which contribute to the production of wines with good acidity and finesse. Some of the lesser-known producers are: Geszler (Mór), Szivek (Buda) and Szövényi Áron - Anonym Winery. Some of the most reputable: Kamocsay, Pannonhalmi Abbey Winery, Nyakas, Haraszthy. Probably the best, refined wine came from Anonym. Frazír and Szinkópa both proved to be elegant, complex and with good potential.
February 2021:
We welcomed Mr. Vida Péter jr. at our latest Szekszárd tasting where perfect, smooth yet complex reds were on the palette from Dúzsi, Heimann, Hetényi, Márkvárt, Vesztergombi and others, with Vida's new fine wine brand 'Lösz' 2017 coming as highest ranking, with great balance, rounded fruit and a truly charming character.
January 2021:
Our clients enjoyed a special evening with great Villány reds of such names as Vojtek, Maczkó, Ruppert, Bock, Jammertal, Jackfall and others. The event's most interesting game was creating our own blend of fine red wine with individual character...
Our next wine-course
We have gone online!
Tastings from the comfort of your home, yet together with your peers. Spend an enjoyable 1,5 hours evening with full English explanations of the finest Hungarian wines. Wines are distributed safely and in perfect sized portions, ready for you to click them open while watching a professional presentation with lots of animation and interactivity.
Registration is continuous for groups of at minimum 8 people.
Sessions will comprise of ten events altogether, on ten consecutive Thursday evenings, presenting Tokaj, Villány, Eger, Szekszárd, North-West Balaton, North-East Balaton, South Balaton, North-Pannonia, Mátra and Sopron wine regions of Hungary. Professional tasting of 10 wines each evening, with colorful explanations and presentation. Fee for the full course: HUF 90.000.
Terms and conditions apply.
Wine courses
WinesExplained organises club events for expatriates in English. This includes wine tasting, learning about Hungarian wine regions, varieties, most important producers. The course enables you to impress your Hungarian peers and business partners with your knowledge of local wines, which this country is so proud of.
Team building
Interactive presentations about wine, paired with professional tasting will get your team liaise more easily with each-other. Perfect evening event after a day full of theoretical training. Chill out and enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere and discover the diverse world of wines coming from the best producers of the different regions of Hungary.
Private sommelier
Be it a wedding or a banquet, based on our extensive knowledge of Hungarian wines, WinesExplained can give you recommendations to match perfectly your planned event.
The excitement of Hungarian wines
Hungary has so many indigenous varieties! The upcoming and ever so successful Furmint is just one of those. Explore the characteristics of these varieties on their own, and taste how they work together with the well-known international varieties in blends.
As many as 22 wine regions are differentiated within this small country. This is not without reason. Soils and growing conditions vary considerably throughout the country, as well as micro-climate. Explore the main characteristics and discover resemblance and differences as compared to internationally renown wine regions.
Our wine courses will give you an insight to this colorful world full of excitement to explore.
