Stars of Eger – wines that shine through…

Hungary is a small country and still it has a lot of – 22 (!) – wine regions. Since most Hungarians consume Hungarian wines, there is a rather strong competition among wine regions, and Eger, one of the most famous one is aware of the fact that being famous is not enough.
Eger wine region works hard to regain the reputation of Bikavér, a blend that was mass producted during the communist era. Szekszárd, the other wine region allowed to make Bikavér is adamant as well to guard the quality of Bikavér wines. So we can sit back, red blends are great. But what about light, lush, everyday white wines?

Eger decided to create a new brand in 2012. They knew that introducing a new brand was never easy, still the initial was a huge success. Even giving the name to the new blend was a hype: hundreds of suggestions arrived, and finally ‘Egri Csillag’ was chosen.

The name ‘Egri Csillag’ refers to a novel written by Géza Gárdonyi (title: Egri csillagok) in 1899, and it is basically a love story that has a setting in Eger during the Turkish invasion, and the peak of the plot is the siege of Eger in 1552. The siege ended with the victory of the Hungarian defenders, which had a strategic importance, it was the first victory against the Turkish invaders. The Stars of Eger refers to the heroes and heroines of the Castle of Eger.

The film based on the novel is also a favourite movie of the middle aged or older Hungarians. In a survey carried out in 2005, Egri Csillagok was elected the most popular novel in Hungary.

Eger wine region uses the brand name ‘Egri Csillag’ like the brand name ‘Egri Bikavér’ – both brand names are controlled, regional protected wine categories. According to the rule of the protected origin Egri Csillag, the wine has to be made of at least 4 grape varieties. The muscat or ‘aromatic’ type of grapes cannot exceed 30% of the blend. Half of the components should be Carpathian-basin originated grapes.

Egri Csillag

Thummerer Egri Csillag is a great example of the category. Beyond obeying the rules made by the wine region, together, Thummerer Winery aimed to create a wine that reflects not only the wine region, but also reveals the style of Thummerer Winery. For this reason they chose Királyleányka grape, it gives 50% of Thummerer Egri Csillag. However a charming nose is one thing. They made a great effort to make the palate as complex and exciting as possible, and they also put emphasis on producing a full bodied white wine. That is why the Thummerers selected the grapes Sauvignon Blanc, Tramini and Zenit – they make up the other half of the blend.

The wine was vinified with reductive technology and it has resulted intense aromas, rich character and complex flavour profile.