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Kovács Nimród Winery’s Latest Releases a great success at Egri Borok Gálája (Eger wines’ gala)
A new chapter is being written –so proclaimed the posters on display across the historic halls of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest on the second Saturday of February, which marked the 2009 Egri Borok Gálája (Eger Wines’ Gala), an annual celebration of Eger’s top wines, another milestone event for the Eger wine-region, attracting nearly five hundred attendees this year, where guests had the pleasure to sample a rich selection of top wines handcrafted by the members of the Egri Borvidék Borászválogatottja (Eger Wine-region’s Winemaker Hall of Fame). This year’s festivities were opened by Eger Mayor László Habis and head-winemaker of Kaló Pince (Cellars) Imre Kaló, assisted with their honorable duties by Mária Borbás and the Egri Borbarát Hölgyek (Wine-Enthusiast Ladies of Eger).
The same slogan that promoted the 2009 gala holds true in another sense, as well: For a new chapter is being likewise written at an Eger-based winery that has become known and renown as Monarchia Winery.
Albeit under a new name as of 2009, re-christened after its owner Nimród Kovács, former Monarchia Winery has continued to release ever more excellent wines of consistently high quality. The proprietor believed the time had come to lend his own name to the winery so as to better reflect his personal dedication to superior quality and his undying passion for Eger and Hungary. Beginning this year, their new releases are marketed under the Kovács Nimród Winery label.
In a joint mission with his international team of Hungarian and US experts, including Californian winemaker and internationally renowned Pinot Noir specialist Kent Barthman, Californian viticulturist Markus Bokisch, winemaker Richárd Hulyák, and viticulturists Zoltán Kárpáti and Tamás Marczis, owner Nimród Kovács and his devoted colleagues share their passion for and commitment to producing distinctive, artisanal wines - sourced from the winery’s own vineyards - of a unique character that rank in the top categories on the world map of premium wines. The majority of his labels are marketed in Hungary and the USA.
At the third annual Egri Borok Gálája (Eger Wines’ Gala), a brainchild of the Egri Borvidékért Alapítvány (Foundation to benefit the Eger Wine-region), as a newly inducted member into the Egri Borvidék Borászválogatottja (Eger Wine-region’s Winemaker Hall of Fame), Kovács Nimród Winery introduced itself with new releases, a new image and a few new team members, including winemaker Richárd Hulyák.
Those in attendance at the 2009 Egri Borok Gálája – noted representatives of the winemaking profession as well as the general public of wine-aficionados - were among the firsts to sample the 2007 Battonage Chardonnay, the 2007 Pinot Noir, the 2007 Syrah, and had the privilege to pre-order the 2005 NJK. These top wines of exceptional quality are offered at very reasonable prices for their outstanding value, even as compared with their peers in the Hungarian and international markets.
Kovács Nimród Winery had reason to be proud of its appearance at the gala as not only did it receive countless words of recognition from the general public in attendance – not to mention quite a few wine-lovers astonished at the superior quality of its showcased wines - but also many of the present prominent winemakers from Eger, such as Lajos Gál, Vilmos Thummerer, Dr. György Lőrincz, spoke highly of the featured Kovács Nimród Winery wines, with a special regard to the 2007 Battonage Chardonnay.
As a first-time feature in the history of the gala, the top Bikavérs from across the wine-region, totaling nearly thirty different labels, were lined up on one designated table for a side-by-side sampling and comparison. Compared with its peers presented for tasting, the Kovács Nimród Winery 2004 Bazilika Egri Bikavér, the first and only Superior Bikavér of the 2004 vintage in the world, received high marks.
Those in attendance at this year’s event should agree that the wide selection of premium wines showcased at the gala offered something for every palate, and allowed for the guests to meet, mingle and socialize with fellow wine-lovers as well as celebrated winemakers from other wine-regions across the country, including István Szepsy, Zoltán Heimann, Vencel Garamvári, Gábor Orosz, amongst many others. At the same time, those present could also enjoy the fruits of this wine-region-wide collaboration that had resulted in numerous fine wines over the past few years, premium labels that are well worthy of attention by both the domestic and international quality-conscious consumer.
Presenting their own wines in person, and answering the ever more professional questions posed by the wine-enthusiast public, such personal interaction by the members of the Egri Borvidék Borászválogatottja (Eger Wine-region’s Winemaker Hall of Fame) – namely János Bolyki, Csaba Demeter, Nimród Kovács, Lajos Gál, Tibor Gál, Jr., Attila Juhász, Imre Kaló, Tamás Sike, Zoltán Simkó, József Simon, Dr. György Lőrincz, Vilmos Thummerer, and Béla Vincze - has proven very popular with wine-lovers in attendance.
Alongside his fellow hall-of-famers, proudly offering samples of his winery’s exhibited labels, and gladly giving insight into the secrets of the wine trade and winemaking business, Nimród Kovács felt that the recent change of vision at his winery together with the major investments implemented in the past years were justified by the stellar attendance and overwhelmingly positive feedback. It’s no surprise that he himself takes so much pride in Kovács Nimród Winery’s latest and forthcoming releases that are worthy of being displayed on the top shelves of any wine store in the US and the world over, as well as meet the highest expectations of the most discerning wine-enthusiast.
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Photo: György Szántó