During we are preparing our next edition St. Andrea magazine, we received some nice opinions, experiences about our wines, out of the Hungarian border. You can read some very kind review from our Partners below. Thank you very much for them!
“In our restaurant we serve in our summer card salmon fillet with fennel puree, spinach and millet groats with vegetables and lime sauce and we recommend Napbor for this meal. Napbor also is served with papardele pasta with mushrooms.
The wines meet with very good reception by restaurants guests especially with a change of opinion on Hungarian wines. These wines blend in perfectly with paring with meals. Napbor it is ideally suited to roasted pike perch with parsley puree with marinated cucumber with dill oil. Merengo blends perfectly with sirloin of wild boar with oats and dried plum, bacon, served with beet puree. St. Andrea wines are very popular in our restaurant, where we have occasion to taste that with Mrs Eva Barta. Each guest appreciates the taste and style with which he met ny Hungarian wine.” Dom Kawi I wina, Poland
“The UK has long been a sophisticated wine market, open to imports from a wine variety of wine styles and origins. Historically the classic wines of western Europe like red Bordeaux, white Burgundy and German Riesling were popular and were joined in the latter part of the last century by varietal wines from the New World. For a variety of reasons wines from middle, eastern and southeastern European countries rarely featured, unless offering a keen value proposition. Today however, a new generation of wine drinkers and professionals is showing real openness to these previously ignored countries. This stems from an increased desire for differentiation and authenticity; these wine drinkers want new things that are not merely new and different, but have a sense of place. Hungary, with its distinct indigenous varieties and diverse terroirs is well placed to capitalise on this new, improved openness. However it faces several challenges. Consumers and ‘gate keepers’ need to be introduced to these new names and places, master some of the intricacies of the Hungarian language and be given the opportunity to taste the wines themselves.” Peter, The Wine Society
“St Andrea is a breath of fresh air in Eger, a region which undoubtedly produces some delicious wines but currently lacks a little focus as far as export markets are concerned. St Andrea make fine wines which are fresh, complex and sophisticated. They manage to do this by having a clear focus within their range while also considering their branding is approachable and appealing for an audience based outside of their immediate vicinity. At The Wine Society we have worked with the wines of St Andrea for a little while now and their consistency, finesse, marketability and genuine quality is what makes them a joy to work with. This is all helped by the excellent work which has been done by Wines of Hungary UK in the United Kingdom, who successfully created a solid means of communication, making this relationship possible.” Freddy Bulmer – Buyer – The Wine Society
“At a recent tasting of St Andrea’s four Bikavér’s all based on a majority of Kékfrankos, it was interesting to see not only how the wines age, but also how the combination of terroir and varieties show subtly different versions of an Egri Bikavér. Kékfrankos often demonstrates floral and blue-black fruit character with fresh acidity and fine tannins, and this character was evident in all four wines. Merengo 2013 from volcanic soils and selected barrels (Kékfrankos, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah). The volcanic soils seem to emphasise the freshness of the vibrant acidity and minerality in the ripe blue-black fruit. In comparison, the Nagyeged hegy from south-facing suntrap vineyards, in the same year, with a slightly different blend (Kékfrankos, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Kadarka) showed more ripe blue-black fruit, with floral notes and juicy, intense, freshness. Igazan 2014 Grand Superior from limestone soil, and the same blend as the Nagyeged was similar in style but less opulent with fresh acidity (it was a cold wet vintage). Perfumed, floral, fresh blue-black fruit. Fresh blue-black acidity, with Syrah spice peaking through. The youngest Bikavér was the Hangacs 2015 Grand Superior. (Kékfrankos, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Kadarka) from volcanic soils, showed more inky, black, floral notes, similar to that of the Merengo, with very fresh acidity.” Elisabeth Gabay Master of Wine
“Eger is one of Hungary’s most famous wine regions, noted for its hearty red ‘Bull’s Blood’ wines, and winemakers Lõrincz György and Lõrincz György Jr. believe that there are many exciting possibilities yet from this historic area. St Andrea have lifted this name to a completely new level, by creating a higher grade Egri Bikaver quite unlike the cheap Bull’s Blood still on the mass market. Theirs is half kékfrankos with merlot and pinot noir and just a smidge of kadarka and cabernet franc. They work in a thoroughly modern winery but have faith in tried and true traditional methods too, trusting their unique terroirs and their careful tending of the vineyards to supply them with high-quality fruit. The estate covers four different locations and nine distinct plots, most of which feature soils that are essentially volcanic ash compacted over millennia at various depths across the sites. They are the best company by a yard in Eger.” The Wine Society
“A wineglass of St. Andrea introduces to our guests an extremely diverse and imagination boggling world of modern Hungarian winemaking. Authentic wines of St. Andrea are infused by a unique style of Eger and its winemaking tradition. A tot of vivid and vital Áldás or deep and noble Pinot Noir Valóban méltó will not leave anybody untouched and will create long-lasting thrilling afterglow.” Pavel Alekseev, owner, member of Russian Sommelier Association, Smaragd Wine Bar, Marienbad, Czech Republic