The city is in the lucky position of being able to choose between being the custodian of a heroic past or its most popular wine. Nowadays, it's good to be a citizen of Eger because its great comeback has already taken place; the prodigal son has been converted from his decades of wandering and has been embraced by his father. Eger has everything you would expect from a great wine region. Its wines boast attractive acidity, good structure and a unique character that is easily identifiable. White and red, dry and, to a lesser extent, sweet, Eger has made them all its own. Landscape, real culture, engrossment and touring, all in one place, in Eger.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
It is located in northern Hungary, on the southern slopes of the Bükk Mountains. The total production area of the Eger wine district is 22,162 hectares. Only 5,732 hectares of this vast area are currently under vine.
SOIL
The soils are very varied and include limestone, dolomite, schist, rhyolite tuff of volcanic origin, gravel to the south and marsh sediment.
CLIMATE
Its climate is similar to that of Mátraalja, with spring coming quite late, followed by a relatively short growing season. The wine district is one of Hungary's coolest, with an average annual temperature of 10.1°C.
GRAPE VARIETIES AND TYPICAL WINE STYLES
Typical white varieties include Hárslevelű, Olaszrizling, Leányka, Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel (Ottonel Muskotály) and Müller-Thurgau (Rizlingszilváni in Hungarian), while typical black varieties are Kékfrankos, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Portugieser, Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah.
The Eger climate is one of the coolest in Hungary. Hence, it the home of well-retained primary aromas and refreshing acidity. Grapes are grown on varied soils, resulting in considerable stylistic differences. So, knowledge of the terroir characteristics that have played a role in the development of the "Eger wine style" is as important as the varieties that are at home here.
Looking at white wines, there are two different styles that complement each other. On the one hand, many producers make lean, dry, primary fruit-driven wines with high acidity, while others produce wines from high-quality varieties that are matured in oak, have higher alcohol and are maybe bottled with a touch of residual sugar. The rich aromatics makes the former appealing, while the latter are appreciated for their full-bodied, fleshy structure and oily smoothness. Királyleányka, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat are the perfect embodiment of the first category, while Olaszrizling, Leányka, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris (Szürkebarát) best represent the second. Furmint was once traditional too and has recently reappeared as a representative of this style. The Debrői Hárslevelű category is also a good framework, but the frame still needs the wines to fill it. However, there is nothing wrong with the variety's abilities or the terroir.
The creation of the "Egri Csillag" category in 2011 was to enable producers to showcase the capabilities of Eger's terroir in the case of white wine. The harvest of the first vintage (2011) and its successors has yielded many interesting, merit worthy wines. The use of aromatic varieties, such as Traminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Királyleányka, may also make the brand interesting on international markets. The categories of Egri Csillag Classic, Superior and Grand Superior can be differentiated between in terms of concentration, complexity and ageability. Classic wines are clearly light, fruity and intended for early consumption, the latter are two are made from a completely different quality of fruit. The brand is meant to showcase the beauty of Eger wines by focussing not on variety but rather on individual terroir. After three or four years, these wines have sometimes aged beautifully. White blends are much less common in the world's wine regions. Perhaps because everything happens more quickly, it is more difficult to decide the assemblage such that it can develop real harmony during ageing rather than a hodgepodge of flavours.
Egri Bikavér appeared in Hungary at the end of the 19th century. Following the reconstruction of the vineyards following phylloxera, Kékfrankos, then known as Nagyburgundi, was blended with Oportó and Kadarka to create a full-bodied blend with high alcohol. The real champion of this brand was Jenő Grőber, who also added Medoc Noir to the blend to increase the wine's body. Good marketing and careful quality assurance have made this one of Eger's, and even Hungary's, best-known wines, which was highly esteemed around the world until World War II. It is regrettable that the last 50 years have given this otherwise laudable brand name a good battering.