2021. 07. On the 15th, a sunny Thursday, we held the press event we were perhaps most excited about in our careers so far. On this day, we spoke in front of the greats of the Hungarian journalistic profession about the recognition: the Eger wine region was placed on the map of the wine world, our Nagy-Eged dűlő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior 2017 wine is among the 50 best in the world.
It’s still incredible for us, the emotions permeate us every time we think about or talk about this amazing miracle. We held the press conference at the St. Andrea Restaurantbanin Bdapest, where restaurant manager Miklós Lizsicsár and co-owner Klára Holló were waiting for us and the journalists in a loving atmosphere and with a professional team. With childish excitement, we stood up to the pulpit and proudly began to talk honestly about what we were feeling right now.
We started the event with an excerpt from Sándor Márai’s Bull’s Blood, which is a kind of ode to the bull’s blood, the Eger wine region. We felt we could really express the heightened emotional state that was going on within us. The writings of Márai in the 1940s are confirmed and now the judges of the world mention the Eger region on a page with the Tuscan and Burgundy regions. This is a real blessing.
“Ezt a dombot megjelölte az Isten, mint a toscanai völgyet, ahol a chianti terem, mint Burgundia lankáit, mint a tokaji hegyoldalt.
Van a világnak néhány ilyen pontja, ahol, titokzatos szándékkal és eszközökkel, valami sajátos és egyéni készül. Ennek az egri dombnak lelke van, mint a burgundiai lankáknak; s álltam a dombtetőn, és hallgattam e csendes lélegzetvételt, e megjelölt és választott táj lélegzetvételét. Az idő fölött él ez a táj és a történelem fölött, még a török tanyázott itt, s a dombokban százötven éven át elkeveredett a bikavér az embervérrel. Sok vér folyt ezen a tájon. De a föld, a domb őrzi titkát, ezt a nemes és sűrű mámort, a bikavért. Vannak nemes tájak; az egri is ilyen, a toscanai, a burgundiai és Verona vidéki is. A föld tele van itt azzal a különös erővel és erjedéssel, az örök mámor és feledés itala készül itt, vész és viszály fölött, múló idő és múló emberek fölött; ez az engesztelő és békítő, ez a lelkesítő és nyugtató csepp, a bikavér.”
After that As the forerunners of the St. Andrea Nagy-Eged dűlő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior 2017 we presented the Örökké Egri Csillag Superior 2020and the Hangács-dűlő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior 2017 wine, which was also recognized by the Decanter World Wine Awards,received 93 points and won a silver medal. Chef Endre Kollár made excellent food pairings for the wines, which further emphasized the character of the wines.
To the Örökké it served a specialty folded from trout, green apples, fennel and elderberry, which harmonized perfectly with the floral-citrus scent of the wine.
To the Hangács he made aan accompaniment form St. James shells, ponzu, and cherry, further emphasizing the elegant, sophisticated nature of the wine.
In the end he he offered duck in udon noodles garnished with blueberries and blackberries to the Nagy-Eged dűlő Egri Bikavér wine.It could not have been a more perfect pairing for the fullness and fruitiness of the wine.
In the meantime, we told you how we got to know that the St. Andrea Nagy-Eged dűlő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior 2017 won the Best in Show award and was among the 50 best wines in the world… You need to know that we have not competed in our wines for years. This entry was submitted by our partner (Best of Hungary), they deal with domestic wines in England. In view of the partnership, we made an exception, sent them a sample and paid the entry fee. And then we forgot about it all… Then one of our dear friends, Ferenc Csutorás, called one morning to win two of our wines at theDecanter World Wine Awardson ,and one of them won Best in Show with 97 points. We didn’t have a word. Then journalists and friends called and congratulated us, and we slowly realized how much of this had happened in the life of both the Eger wine region and our winery.
The competition is already 18th in this year. ,more than 18,000 items (a record in the history of the competition) were received from about 56 countries, with a blind tasting by the world’s most renowned wine experts for more than two weeks. This award is the success of every winemaker in Eger and it is confirmed by the fact that the members of the Egri Borműhely congratulated us one after another and rejoiced with us. In addition, several well-known Eger winemakers have received silver and bronze awards in this competition, which is also a huge achievement for the wine region and we are very happy that the wines of the region are highly valued by foreign professionals.
The fate of the wines of Eger, the wine region is our heart’s desire. That is why we considered it important to have a magazine about the region’s flagship, the bull’s blood. In the first Bikavér magazin we proudly present the history and characteristics of the most famous wine of our wine region: everything you need to know about bull blood. In the magazine, famous winemakers talk about wine and renowned international wine academics, such as Dr. Gabriella Mészáros and Attila Fiáth, analyze the Eger wine region and bull’s blood with expert eyes. The front page shows the new marketing image of Eger, the graphic merit of Géza Ipacs, who, combining ancient traditions with modern elements, created a symbolic symbol in which the winged bull traversed the entire history of bull’s blood, signifying the almighty power and mercy of the Lord.
Bortermelés, gasztronómia, irodalom, képzőművészet… Úgy véljük az egri bikavér egy mindent összekötő kapocs az egri borvidéken, mely milyen formában mindenkit inspirál és alkotásra ösztönöz.
Wine production, gastronomy, literature, fine arts… We believe that the Eger bull’s blood is an all-encompassing link in the Eger wine region, in a form that inspires and encourages everyone to create. On the occasion of the anniversary, we will be preparing for several things in the future. We were the first to create Jubilee wine package, which included two special wines, the St. Andrea Agapé Nagy-Eged-hegy dűlő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior 2017 and the St. Andrea Mária Nagy-Eged-hegy dűlő Egri cuvée Grand Superior 2018. The wine label is completely new, uniquely designed, made specifically for the anniversary.
Next year, following our traditions, we would like to compile a 20-year anniversary magazine, which would be a kind of essence for our vineyard. A publication in which we take stock of what has happened in recent years, all that the St. Andrea Vineyard has, all that we are.
It was a wonderful day for us, thank you to everyone who paid their respects at this event.
Dr. György Lőrincz Dr. György Lőrincz Jr.
