Hungary is today perhaps best known for its sweet Tokaji wines, with increasingly a fast growing recognition for its dry variants, it might be surprising to those outside of Europe to learn that there was - is - a historic Hungarian red that was once much more renowned and is today making a serious comeback.

But first we go back to the 16th Century when 150,000 Turkish soldiers were at the height of their siege on a fortress in Eger, Hungary. With just 2,000 Hungarian soldiers left to defend the fortress, and after an exhausting month-long siege, victory for the Turkish seemed inevitable. Yet as food ran out, it was said that the Hungarians would finally resort to tearing off the doors of their wine cellars to allow their troops whatever sustenance had remained - even wine counted! In a turn of events, out from the cellars of Eger came the most terrifying Hungarian soldiers with blood stained beards and dark red liquid dripping down their armour! Word quickly got out to the Turkish forces that the Hungarians had in a hail mary turned desperately to drinking the blood of bulls so as to fortify themselves invincible! This most intimidating lore would quickly demoralise the Turkish troops who would retreat and forgo the siege.

A 16th Century siege created the myth of the Bull's Blood.

Now as you might have guessed, that "bull's blood" was in fact red wine! Made in the central north of Hungary closest to the border of Slovakia and midway between the capital of Budapest and the famed wine region of Tokaj, this historic wine is known as Egri Bikavér, which directly translates as "Bull's Blood of Eger", so named after the folklore mentioned. It is by definition a blend of at least three grape varietals, with the local Kékfrankos anchoring the cuvee - Kékfrankos is also known as Blaufränkisch.

Today, Bikavér has found new life in Hungary's historic Eger region. After years of industrial production under the Communist rule in the pursuit of maximum volumes produced, Eger has since become a hotbed for impassioned winemakers seeking to reinstate Hungary's winemaking prowess. Yet, to fully comprehend and appreciate Hungary's winemaking story we need to go back some one thousand years.

The historic Hungarian city of Eger.

Now 16th century Hungarian winemaking in reality merely scratches the surface when it comes to Hungary's historic Eger region - in fact, winemaking in Hungary pre-dates what we even know of wine today! The very word "wine" is derived from Latin, with then only three European languages with a name for the fermented grape beverage that is not otherwise derived from Latin hinting at their ancestral origins; they are: Greek, Basque and Hungarian (where it is known as "bor"). As such, the earliest known instances of winegrowing in Hungary actually originates from the Romans who had brought vines to what was then known as Pannonia, where by the 5th century, it was understood that vineyards were aplenty across what is now Hungary. Yet, it is said that where it came to practice of winemaking, much of the knowledge possessed by the Hungarians had instead come from the East. 

In the following centuries, a wide diversity of varietals would make its way to Hungary from Italy and France, with much of the wines historically made in Hungary then being white wines. It was then around the 16th century Ottoman occupation of Hungary when the red Bikavér would make its debut, with the late harvested sweet Tokaj wines also beginning to gain serious prominence during the same period. When the Ottomans finally left, the Austrians would take their place and bring with them Germanic influences with the use of grape varietals such as the Blauer Portugieser, as well as the establishing of the first vineyard classifications of the Tokaj.

Kekfrankos, also known as Blaufrankish.

Unfortunately in the 1880's, phylloxera would not spare Hungary as it swept across Europe. This resulted in much of Eger's then field blends of various grape varietals replaced with monocultures, predominantly comprising of Kékfrankos and Bordeaux red varietals. The following decades would also see the rise of more commercially efficient varietals such as Zweigelt which were deemed as easier to grow and vinify. When World War II was called to an end, Hungary would itself become a Communist state where all matters of production would become state owned and directed, with in particular winemaking focused squarely on achieving the highest volumes of quantity, with little emphasis on quality - this led to over four decades of overcropping, pasteurisation and industrial production that would define much of modern Hungarian winemaking up until the country transited out of Communist rule in 1989. Up till that point, Bikavér had racked up a reputation for being mass produced and largely seen as a cheap central European wine of perhaps at least some exotic appeal. 

This nevertheless would set the stage for a serious revival of quality Hungarian wines that have evolved rapidly and magnificently in the past three decades since! Discontent with what had become of their historic wines, a handful of Hungarian winemakers have made it their mission to bring quality back to Bikavér, with an increasingly focused pursuit on delivering Hungarian provenance.

Dr Lõrincz György and his son Lõrincz György Jr.

With that all in mind, we now find ourselves with one of Eger's most illustrious vineyards - St Andrea!

After years of working for the state owned cooperative Eger Vin (or Egervin), the highly experienced winemaker, Dr. Lőrincz György (who studied Oenology in Budapest before working in a research center and then the cooperative), would begin dabbling in 1999 with a small personal side project of just 1.5 hectares of vines. He would begin entering his own wines in national competitions to great success, winning Gold at the National Wine Competition with an 1997 Eger Cabernet Sauvignon. By 2002, with the backing of investors, Dr Gyorgy would fully invest himself into what would become the St Andrea winery. Named after his wife, Dr Gyorgy would first focus his efforts at St Andrea entirely on laying the groundwork of simply producing high quality Eger wines - a feat that is much easier said than done!

The hills of Nagy Eged.

With a view of first improving fruit quality, Dr Gyorgy would undertake careful vineyard selection whilst also stripping away industrial practices. Over the course of 20 years, the winery would grow to encompass nine distinct vineyard parcels covering some 50 hectares of vines, with vine density doubled to 6,000 vines per hectare. Dr Gyorgy would also have a dedicated cellar carved into the hillside just as has been traditionally done here in Eger. Of the regions wide range of permitted varieties, St Andrea counts at least 20 varieties that it cultivates - yet ironically no longer farms Cabernet Sauvignon, the very varietal that Dr Gyorgy first found success with! The estate extensively practices organic farming, with more than 16 hectares of parcels already fully organic and even utilising biodynamic principles. 

Across its vineyards, visitors will find numerous statues of the Virgin Mary watching over the vines, with also many of St Andrea's wines hinting at the spiritual, with names such as Örökké ("Forever"), Áldás ("Blessing") and Boldogságos ("Blessed"). Once a strong atheist, Dr Gyorgy would find in himself a spiritual awakening when in 2005 his co-founder István László would unfortunately pass away in a tragic car accident along with fellow Hungarian star winemaker Tibor Gál, when the duo had been in South Africa consulting for a winery. This led to Dr Gyorgy finding much solace in religion, which today is evident all across his work, describing St Andrea as God's vineyard, whilst also dedicating much time to building churches in Hungary.

Here in the Eger, the climate is characterised as cool and continental, with its soils predominantly volcanic clay (rhyolite tuff) with pockets of limestone that is known as "Tufa". The vineyards can then range a steep incline in altitude along these tufa slopes, with many cellars, some as old as 400 years, and even whole wineries that have over the centuries been carved into the side of these tufa hills which provides for a cool and humid microclimate. What then is particularly outstanding about the Eger is that it is able to accommodate both red and white varietals in the same climate! Taking advantage of this, Dr Gyorgy, today supported by his sons, have sought to not only grow international varietals such as Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Franc, but to increasingly focus on Hungarian varietals such as the red Kékfrankos and Kadarka, as well as the white Olaszrizling, Hárslevelű and Furmint.

"Old varieties, like Olaszrizling, Hárslevelű, Furmint, Kadarka and Kékfrankos take priority here. We seek to know more about our terroirs and parcels, to improve our cultivation and also to adjust the steps of our winemaking according to the different varieties... and put our heart and soul into understand the essence of our earthly mission. Producing red and white wines from the same area is a particularly challenging task. We would like to create terroir-specific character wines based on traditions and, at the same time, follow the requirements of today’s quality winemaking.''

Playing into the naturally low yields (vines can yield just half a kilogram of fruit) that results from planting along the steep slopes, St Andrea emphasises winegrowing entirely by hand, from harvesting to winemaking. Whilst the first twenty years of effort was entirely focused on winning over the domestic market, which ultimately is still the biggest market for Hungary's wines, the focus moving forward is to put Hungary on the international wine community's podiums. With a particular focus on producing terroir driven wines, Dr Gyorgy is resolute that in order to establish Eger internationally, the wines coming from the region must necessarily be not only high quality but also play into what makes it unique, that is prioritising indigenous varietals and leaning into originality. Yet this is easier said than done when the local market which Eger heavily relies upon (about 60% of sales, with the 40% exported primarily entry level cheaply priced wines) still places a premium on international varieties. For that reason, Dr Gyorgy has sought to demonstrate through his work at St Andrea that it is in fact possible to resist the fancies of the local market in order to produce wines that cannot be replicated anywhere else. For him, international varietals can still play a supporting role, but the protagonists have to proudly be local, that is the Kékfrankos', Kadarka's, Furmint's and Hárslevelű's of Hungary. 

And so spread around Eger, St Andrea's winegrowing can be divided into 4 distinct localities - Borgó, Mesterháza, Szent-György and Kistályos - with the Nagy-Eged Hill, composed of just 6.5 hectares of high density limestone, the winery's gem. With a careful watch over the various ripening windows of each varietal, the winery operates its harvest with meticulous scheduling, with then low temperature fermentation done mainly in open stainless steel vats (with a small use of barrels) with natural ambient yeasts, whilst also using numerous small plastic bins for fermentation in small batches. Dr Gyorgy had initially started out using French oak barriques but has since moved entirely on to traditional Hungarian 300-litre oak barrels that come from the mountain ranges of Bükk and Zemplén, where the soils are shallow, forcing the trees to mature slowly and over long periods of time that then results in incredibly tight grains. For Dr Gyorgy, this extends beyond a matter of simply making a 100% local wine, but touts that the unique characteristics of the Hungarian oak allows for incredibly controlled micro-oxidation without much tannins. This in turn produces wines that demonstrate structure without forcefulness, and are much more immediately approachable. St Andrea's winemaking is thus a blend of modernity and tradition, with a focus on delivering the local terroir with as much clarity as modern winemaking makes possible.

Eger's wines - with the historic Egri Bikavér in particular - do exist with tiered classifications for its reds, whilst the predominant Eger white, the Egri Csillag (of Eger Star), requiring the use of at least four different white grape varieties , with at least 50% of the blend native Hungarian varietals.

Classicus: Base Quality; minimum of four grape varieties and at least 6 months of oak ageing.

Superior: Mid-Level Quality; minimum of five grape varieties and at least 12 months of oak ageing.

Grand Superior: Highest Quality; minimum of five grape varieties and at least 16 months of oak ageing.

*Egri Bikavér's blend must be anchored by Kékfrankos as the dominant variety (at least 30% of cuvee), with no other single variety aside from to exceed 30% for the Superior and Grand Superior class.

Producing a range of historic Eger blends, along with single varietal and single vineyard wines (with an increasing focus on returning to historic cuvees), it's unsurprising then that St Andrea's wines are focused on the Superior and Grand Superior tiers, with Dr Gyorgy having established the Egri Superior Circle whose goal is to encourage winemakers in Eger to raise the bar on the region's wine quality.

With just over two decades in, the days must certainly feel long whilst the years short for Dr Gyorgy and the team at St Andrea, yet they've worked tirelessly to achieve much in that time, demonstrating that Eger is more than capable of producing stellar wines - they've certainly got the awards to show for it (having won Winery of the Year in Hungary for 2025, amongst a collection of accolades from the international wine community). Yet Dr Gyorgy is clear that the work is far from done - ultimately, he wants St Andrea to make wines that are not only definitively Hungarian, but demonstrably Eger. Through his fresh, fruit-driven, high acidity, crisp whites and bold, concentrated and characterful reds, St Andrea plans to continue to make bids for the summit at international wine competitions, whilst at the same time heavily invest in establishing Eger as a wine tourism hub of choice, with the property having expanded to include a hotel for visitors. Nothing beats seeing St Andrea's work in Eger for yourself says Gyorgy Jr. who looks to be taking over the estate's winemaking in time to come, carrying on his father's work in waving Hungary's flag high.

This month, the Hungarian Embassy in Singapore has been organising a series of special masterclasses celebrating the inspiring story of Hungarian wines! Along with Hungarian wine-focused importer The Wine Key, we got down to trying a selection St Andrea's wines, ranging from the whites including the Örökké Egri Csillag Superior, the Boldogságos Dűlő Egri Csillag Grand Superior, the Mária Nagy Eged Hegy Dűlő Egri Cuvee Grand Superior, to the reds that includes the Merengő Egri Bikavér Superior, the Hangács Dűlő Egri Bikavér Grand Superior and the Nagy Eged Egri Bikavér Grand Superior.

Wine Review: Örökké Egri Csillag Superior

This is a blend of Hárslevelű, Furmint, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc harvested across various locations around Eger, from soils that are a mix of tuff rock, clay rich brown forest soil, limestone and marine sedimentary limestone, with the climate being continental with cold winters and hot summers. After harvest, the fruit has been destemmed and gently pressed (whole bunch for the Furmint and Pinot Gris), with fermentation in both stainless steel and oak barrels. It's then aged for 5 months in Hungarian oak barrels.

This is the 2024 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Pale chrysanthemum.

Aroma: Bright, juicy and full. Opens with fresh, vibrant notes of fleshy peaches and orchard fruits. Gooseberries give it a bright, slightly tangy lift, and there’s a light crisp citrus note. A moderate bready, yeasty note comes through. There’s also a clean mineral thread of chalk and pencil lead that cuts through the fruit, along with a small herbal accent and a faint hint of vanilla rounding the edges.

Taste: Juicy, almost ripe fruit, but it never tips into sweetness. It’s layered and complex for something so bright. Starts off with a creamy texture and precise acidity, bringing the gooseberry character back in sharper, along with apple-and-pear cider. Then shifts into a more savoury register with bruised apples, a mild olive-oil richness, a soft, broth-like depth of light chicken stock. Zesty lemon peels tighten the structure.

Finish: Long and steady, with a soft acidity that keeps things easy rather than bracing. Bruised-apple notes carry through, joined by milky and subtle gentle lactone tones. The minerality persists as well, with light seashell and a faint cedar note trailing at the very end.

My Thoughts

This is very easy to drink, and what stands out is how many layers it manages to carry without ever feeling heavy. The fruit shows clearly, but there’s enough savoury depth and mineral structure to keep it interesting from start to finish. Acidity is impressively precise, refreshing but never sharp, which is really what holds all its shifts in place. The soft milk-lactone note adds a smoothness that works well with the orchard fruit. This definitely feels like the most approachable and fruit-forward of the three white wines, with enough subtlety to keep me going back to it.

Wine Review: Boldogságos Egri Csillag Grand Superior

This is a blend of Hárslevelű, Furmint, Olaszrizling, Sauvignon Blanc and Szürkebarát from the Boldogságos Cru in Egerszólát. The soil here is rhyolite tuff volcanic rock with a thin layer of clay-rich brown forest soil, whilst the climate is continental with cold winters and hot summers at an elevation of 194-235 meters. Fruit is destemmed and gently pressed (whole bunch for Furmint and Pinot Gris), with fermentation in stainless steel and oak barrels, after which it is aged for 5 months in Hungarian oak barrels.

This is the 2023 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Pale canary.

Aroma: Rounded, floral and crisp. A clear mineral edge right from the start, showing slate and wet-stone tones that sit underneath a noticeably milky, creamy oak character, some vanilla blending into light honeysuckle and gentle orchard-fruit aromatics. There’s a small lift of citrus, along with a faint dry-grassy herbal note around the edges.

Taste: Rounded and quite thick in texture, with a strong sense of terroir. The minerality is firm and obvious, carrying a noticably briny thread that runs through the whole palate. Contrasting fruit leans toward poached apple and pear, these soft, warm orchard tones that give contrast to the minerality. The acidity perks up midway through and tightens the wine.

Finish: Medium-long and continues the same acidic structure, staying dry and slightly nippy toward the back of the tongue. More seashell-like minerality comes through here, and the saltiness doesn’t fade, lingering quietly even after the fruit drops away.

My Thoughts

This feels immediately more austere, denser, and more mineral than the Örökké, with a strong coastal impression that really marks the wine. Orchard fruits and light aromatics are still present, but they sit beneath a higher-acid, more textured, more terroir-driven structure that pushes the wine into a deeper register.  The persistent minerality is the main through-line from nose to finish, very deliberate in the way it balances with the rounded fruit and creamy oak. Fruitiness is present, but it's a wine that still shows the noble-grape depth of Csillag at its more structured and focused end.

Wine Review: Mária Nagy Eged Hegy Dulo Egri Cuvée Grand Superior

This is a blend of Chardonnay, Furmint and Sauvignon, from the Nagy Eged vineyard. The soil here of marine sedimentary limestone, at an elevation of 302-380 meters. The climate here is continental with cold winters and hot summers. Fruit is destemmed and gently pressed with fermentation solely in new oak barrels, with partial malolactic fermentation. It's then aged for 10 months in Hungarian and French oak barrels.

This is the 2023 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Pale canary.

Aroma: Clear and concentrated fruits, and highly aromatic with still a warm, rounded profile. Immediately complex and very high-definition fleshy stone fruits. Ripe peach and apricot sitting alongside rich vanilla and an exotic palm-sugar sweetness that blends into a soft buttery note. As it continues to open, fruit and sweetness shift toward a firmer mineral line, and a gentle yeastiness comes through.

Taste: Big and very rounded, carrying a mix of orchard fruits and stone fruits that mirror the nose with a structure stays clear and firm throughout. It’s got a layered, textured feel. Some gooseberries adds a sharper, greener, acidic edge and yeastiness rises slowly through the mid-palate with a buttery character reappearing, sitting comfortably between richness and freshness.

Finish: Long and refined, with a gentle thread of exotic dried herbs appearing after the orchard fruit slowly fades. Yeastiness lingers and the creaminess holds on without becoming heavy. Some acidity keeping everything clean.

My Thoughts

This is my favourite of the whites, and it also feels like the most powerful and gastronomic of the trio. The buttery notes sit nicely against the soft acidity, giving a salted-buttery depth that works really well with the fruit and minerality. It’s aroma is also the most evocative of the three while it retains structure and firmer acidity underneath. This is showing really well but clearly still has the capacity to age longer than the others.

Wine Review: Merengő Egri Bikavér Superior 

A blend of 38% Kékfrankos, 26% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 11% Pinot Noir and 7% Syrah harvested from various parts of Eger. The soils range from tuff rock to brown forest soil, clay, limestone, and marine sedimentary limestone. The climate is broadly continental with cold winters and hot summers. The fruit is destemmed after harvest, with fermentation done in stainless steel tanks and open vats for 18-21 days, after which it is aged for 15 months in Hungarian oak barrels.

This is the 2022 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep ruby.

Aroma: Full of plush, dense fruit right away, leaning heavily into dark cherries and ripe plums. A clear Right Bank Bordeaux feel to the way the fruit and oak sit together. Oak extraction shows, with sweet cocoa powder and dark chocolate spreading through along with the warmth of cinnamon spice, and a small hint of violet lifts the darker tones just slightly. 

Taste: Inky and rich, while remaining juicy and vibrant. Concentrated black-cherry and dark-fruit character carries through – cassis, blackberries and blueberries, the weight cushioned by very fine pillowy tannins that give structure without gripping too hard.

Finish: Long, with the oak returning in a gentle, rounding way. A bit of leather appears alongside chalkier mineral notes. The sensation of grape skins becomes more noticeable here, as it dries the teeth slightly, as does a thread of liquorice and dried herbs. 

My Thoughts

A really dependable and accessible entry into the Bikavér lineup! This is a very plush and very friendly wine, helped along by the strong presence of Merlot in the blend. It feels like a versatile, all-purpose Bikavér: balanced, lively, and not too heavy despite its dark-fruited richness. The structure is soft enough to make it easy to drink, yet detailed enough that the oak, tannins, and fruit all show their roles clearly - mainly on the nose. The combination of Right Bank-like depth with Kékfrankos brightness gives it both comfort and lift.

Wine Review: Hangács Dulo Egri Bikavér Grand Superior

From the Hangacs Dulo where the soil is of rhyolite tuff volcanic rock with a thin layer of clay-rich brown forest soil and limestone, this blend is composed of 54% Kékfrankos, 19% Merlot, 14% Kadarka, 8% Pinot Noir and 5% Cabernet Franc. The climate is continental, at an elevation of 171-232 meters. Fruit is destemmed with fermentation in stainless steel tanks and open vats for 18-21 days, after which it is aged for 16 months in Hungarian oak barrels.

This is the 2022 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Medium ruby.

Aroma: Perfumed and mildly earthy. Starts with a clear potpourri character. Dried florals with a slightly sweet, perfumed edge sitting over black cherries and pomegranate, along with a lighter cherryade note that brings a bright, fizzy lift. Cassia spice adds warmth while some dried autumn leaves give soft, dried-forest-floor feel. A mild garrique note with very slight soil notes underneath everything, just enough to give the fruit and florals a grounded, mossy base.

Taste: Very well structured yet soft, with a gentle velvety texture despite the detail. Fruit moves between red and black: cherries, pomegranate, a touch of darker berries–and then there’s a faint earthiness and forest floor. Tannins are extremely smooth and fine, almost powdery, along with rounded and seamless baking spices. By mid-palate the wine opens up with more floral lift without adding weight– rose petals, lavender and mild notes of thyme, mint, bay leaves.

Finish: Soft and smooth, carrying light, slightly powdery floral notes and small red-berry tones. Airy fresh-linen aromatics followed by a gentle line of liquorice. 

My Thoughts

This is my favourite of the reds at this stage. It’s the most fragrant, elegant, and with tons of finesse – it’s still very smooth and never gets too heavy. The structure is robust enough to promise good aging, but the transparency and lifted aromatics make it incredibly compelling now. It would really appeal if you like the combination of Burgundian-style lifted florals and Hungarian spice. I love the way the wine seems to become more aromatic and layered as it continues to sit.

Wine Review: Nagy-Eged Egri Bikavér Grand Superior

Made from the prestigious Nagy Eged limestone vineyard at an elevation of 260-330 meters, this cuvee is composed of 45% Kékfrankos, 28% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc and 6% Syrah. Fruit is destemmed, with fermentation in open vats for 18-21 days, with then 16 months of ageing in Hungarian oak barrels.

This is the 2021 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Medium ruby with copper edges.

Aroma: Complex and rich right from the first swirl, with inky dark fruits and a firm, stony backbone. Opens around dark berry fruits: blackberries, blueberries, and cassis all showing clearly. The fruit is layered with a graphite and crushed-rock minerality. Cocoa appears in a dry, powdery way, joined by tobacco leaves and a set of savoury spices. There’s also pepper and a faint smoke tone.

Taste: Big and powerful, with a plush, dense concentration of dark cherries and darker berry tones. The texture is rich but still controlled, with the mineral and flinty notes stepping in early and keeping the weight from feeling too heavy. There’s a soft earthiness underneath the fruit, and a small touch of fresh mint. Flintiness comes through later on as a clean mineral edge that cuts through the plush fruit.

Finish: Long, savoury, dry and still clearly structured. Concentrated dark aged balsamic tones – dark fruits joined by a light antique-wood varnish and cedar. Some aromatic agarwood and black pepper and anise adding a spicy lift. A touch of light leather grippiness settles in as it fades. 

My Thoughts

This seems the most structural of the three reds, with a lot of depth packed into every part of the wine. Fruit, oak, and mineral notes feel beautifully integrated and seamless even now, though the wine still sits a little tightly wound. The concentration and tannin structure make it very age-worthy, and the complexity is already apparent in the way the fruit, savoury elements, and minerality constantly trade places. It’s a clear step into Grand Superior territory. It’s a wine built for time, but already showing quite a bit of its precision and power.

@CharsiuCharlie