Review: Egervin Bulls Blood 2007 from Hungary

Wine: One of the most famous wines from Hungary is Bulls Blood by Egervin. Egri Bikaver, translated as Bulls Blood, comes from the town of Eger, Hungary and dates back to the 1850s. Although the legend of the phrase Bulls Blood is derived from much earlier times when the citizens of Eger fought the Ottoman Empire and drank red wine for strength. Bulls Blood is available throughout the world and is self-classified as a dry red table wine. Along with the Tokaji dessert wines, Bulls Blood is among the most well known Hungarian wines in the United States. What makes Bulls Blood particularly interesting is that it can have any three of ten grapes: Kadarka, Kékfrankos (or Blaufränkisch, Blauer Portugieser, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Menoire, Pinot Noir, Blauburger and Zweigelt. Kadarka, a native Hungarian grape is traditional, but other grapes are substituted when supplies are insufficient. The wine was purchased at Liquor Outlet and Wine Cellars in Boonton, NJ. (A terrific wine store.)

Tasting: We tasted the wine at home with dinner. (Sorry I forgot to take notes on dinner.)

Results: The wine's label suggests opening Bulls Blood one hour before drinking. We opened the bottle two hours before drinking. When we tasted the wine, we were disappointed. It was harsh and clearly not yet ready to drink. We vacuum sealed the bottle and tried it again three days later. All the harshness had disappeared. The wine was dark, rich and warm with great legs on the glass. There was a taste of cherries and currants with some tannins. It had a medium to heavy body with a strong aroma.

Rating: Good

Price Value: At $8-10 USD per bottle, it's a good price value; not tremendous but good. I found a 2004 bottle in the store and will review that one next month. I can't wait!

First Experience with Bulls Blood Wine of Hungary in 1994

I visited Hungary for the first time in 1994. I had been overseas a number of times but I was still a beer guy and was a relatively young member of a US Department of Defense team working in Hungary. Thus, I never ordered the wine and was happy to drink whatever was placed in front of me. Our team leader, Frank, in addition to being a great mentor and living proof that you can be a nice guy and get results from people, was well traveled and conversant in wines. Frank wanted to try Bulls Blood which we all had heard about a great deal.

Our team members had been told that unscrupulous waiters and sommeliers would try to cheat us by serving us rotgut or watered down wine at high prices. We had not had this experience in Hungary or Romania to this point and laughed this off as a tourist 'urban legend.'

Sure enough, we went to a fancy restaurant in downtown Budapest. The uniformed waiter brought us a bottle of Bulls Blood that had "just been opened." The wine tasted OK to me but Frank took one taste and knew that the wine was watered down. He requested another bottle and asked the waiter to open it in front of us. The waiter did not even protest. The waiter brought us a second bottle and it tasted exactly the same as the first. We immediately challenged the waiter with a little more agitation. We were a group of eight males; some quite large. Flummoxed, the waiter asked us if we wanted another bottle. Frank asked for a carafe of the cheapest house wine. The waiter happily supplied it and guess what? It tasted exactly the same as the wine in the Bulls Blood bottles.

Black Sea Wines Brings You Items from the Web for 21 March 2011

Black Sea Wines brings you some of the latest news and opinions from the Web.

• Food & Wine magazine lists the best wines of 2010 from Eastern Europe according to a well-known Chicago sommelier.

• Frommer's, the travel site, lists the best local places for beer and wine in Eastern Europe.

• At a recent Moldovan Chamber of Commerce event, I was told of hopes to build an underground transport system to tour the wine cellars of Cricova.

• If you live in the New York City area, there is a class on the wines of Croatia and Hungary on March 26th.

• Austria's former commercial attache to Romania saw opportunity and launched the wine brand LacertA and is now opening a wine-tasting venue.

• Black Sea Wines recently reviewed the Avia Pinot Noir 2009. Why Wine Blog reviewed the 2008 edition.

• The 2011 Chardonnay du Monde competition for the world's best Chardonnay's was held in France last week. One of the top ten Gold Medal winners, Chardonnay Vyber z Hroznu 2006 by Vinarstvi Josef Valihrach, was from the Czech Republic. Bulgaria was cited as a Central European standout.

• Blogger Carolyn Snowabiad praises Turkish wine and provides a link to a CNN piece on the revival of Turkish wines.

Interview with Nimrod Kovacs, Owner of Kovacs Nimrod Winery

Nimrod Kovacs

Kovacs Nimrod Winery, based in Eger, Hungary, offers wine drinkers whites and reds, varietals and blends made from well-known French and traditional Hungarian grapes. Black Sea Wines spoke with Mr. Nimrod Kovacs, the owner of the winery. Born in Hungary, Mr. Kovacs moved to the United States where he lived for over twenty years and became an advertising and telecommunications executive. During his international business travels, he developed a love for wine and a self-described ‘California taste.’ Kovacs decided to return to his native Hungary and invest in, among others, the Eger-based Monarchia winery. He retired from the telecommunications industry and became the proprietor of the winery which now bears his name.

BSW: We read your website. Can you elaborate on the story of how you became involved in winemaking?

NK: I was an investor in Hungarian wine, through the Monarchia merchant company for 10 years, which also oversaw the Monarchia winery in Eger. Two years ago, I left the corporate world and bought out the winery. It became my pet project.  Eger is similar to Burgundy and Northern Rhone. We have three tracts of land in the region where we grow grapes.

BSW: Tell us about your collection of wines.

NK: We are still refining our wines and moving to the next phase of quality. At the top of the pyramid, is the Nagy Eged hill with its Grand Cru characteristics where, we are trying to take lessons from designers like Armani and Versace by creating high quality, haute couture, unique, not mass market wines. Furmint and NJK are our two, top of the line, Grand Cru type wines so far. We are also working on some more reds from Nagy Eged, such as Pinot Noir, Kekfrankos, Syrah and Cab Franc, which will come out in a few years time.

In the middle of the pyramid are the Estate Selection wines including our 2007 Battonage Chardonnay, 2007 Pinot Noir and 2008 Syrah. The Pinot Noir is in made in an international style. It’s fruity, luscious and big with a nice body. Our Syrah is a fruity and peppery, Cote de Rotie style.

We are also developing everyday wines called EGRI for the bottom of the pyramid with purchased grapes that will sell at hypermarkets and large retail outlets for less than $10 a bottle.

BSW: We don’t grow Furmint in the States and it is not available in much of Western Europe. What is your Furmint like? Sweet? Dry?

NK: Our Furmint from Nagy Eged is a complex wine with aromas and flavors of pear and apricot with some flinty overtones and with a long finish. 2009 was our first year for the Furmint and we produced only 480 bottles. It’s a very nice wine and is more subdued and fruity than the Tokaj.

BSW: What should we look for in 2011 from Kovacs Nimrod winery?

NK: In March 2011, from our Estate selection, we introduced the 2008 Battonage Chardonnay which is more subtle and elegant than the 2007. Also, around September, we will bring out, our Estate Selection 2007 Kekfrankos. Finally, around Christmastime, we will offer two limited productions wines from Nagy Eged, the 2010 Furmint (1200 bottles) and the 2008 Kekfrankos (300 bottles). The Kekfrankos has been harvested from the very top of the Nagy Eged Hill (500 meters) which is the highest Kekfrankos terroir in Hungary.

BSW: Where can we buy your wines?

We sell in neighboring countries especially in Germany, Czech Republic and Poland, and of course, all over Hungary. We just shipped 5000 bottles to the US. I also am a 33% partner in Starry Night Winery, based in San Rafael, California who will help in the distribution of Kovacs Nimrod Wines in the USA.

BSW: Are there other wines in Central and Eastern Europe that you like or find interesting?

NK: There are many fine wineries in Hungary. From Eger, St. Andrea has great wines. Zoltan Demeter makes sophisticated wines in Tokaj. Istvan Szepsy is also a great winemaker in Tokaj. From Villany, Attila Gere and Sauska make nice wines. From the Szekszard region, Takler wines are big and luscious.

Black Sea Wines thanks Mr. Kovacs for his time and participation. You can find out more about Nimrod Kovacs Wines at www.kovacsnimrodwinery.com.

Regional Wine Associations and Organizations

• All About Greek Wine
• Georgian Wine Association
• Greek Winemakers 
• Hungarian Wine Society
• Moldovan Small Wine Producers Association 
• Moldovan Wine Guild
• Romanian Winegrowers 
• Romanian Wine Exporters and Producers Association (Wine Romania) 
• Tokaj Wine and Women Association (Hungary) 
• Wines of Balkans
• Wines of Croatia
• Wines of Czech Republic 
• Wines of Serbia
• Wines of Turkey 

We will be adding to the list. Please send the name and URL of your wine association or organization!

From the Web: Black Sea Wine Items for 18 February 2011

Recent items include:

• Romanian millionaire Ioan Niculae of the InterAgro companies invested $9 million to launch the Crama Voievodului wine label. Nobilitas will be the first brand on the shelves.
• Bulgarian wine exports grew 10% in 2010. 
• A review of the Turkish white, Kavaklidere Narince 2008.
• If you want to know more about the wines of Turkey, visit Turkish Wine Forum.
• Suzy Atkins reaffirms Hungary's Tokaji wines as an accompaniment to dessert.
• Isabelle Legeron, wine expert for the Travel Channel, has a video blog of her travels from Budapest to the Black Sea.
• Even the Wall Street Journal is hip to the Prague wine scene.

Wine Compass: Eastern European Wines Shine at the Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival

Our colleagues at Wine Compass thought wines from Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia were among the standouts at the recent Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival. Like me, they are fans of Plavac from Croatia.