István Szepsy and György Lőrincz of the St Andrea Winery, two of Hungary’s iconic winemakers, have released a boxed set of two wines for the first time this year. The winemakers represent two of Hungary’s historic wine regions, Tokaj and Eger, respectively. This joint endeavour is a demonstration not only of the winemakers’ respect and love for each other, but also of collaboration between two regions and two faiths, Catholic and Calvinist.
The festive, limited edition gift box, of which there are only 200 available, contains two special, yet representative bottles of wine, one from each producer. István Szepszy selected a 2012 Szamarodi, which he states represents a particularly characteristic Hungarian wine, that was more prevalent in the past, while St Andrea’s contribution is a 2011 vineyard-selected Bikavér (aka Bull’s Blood) from Nagy-Eged Hill, which will henceforth only be available in the Ars Sacra package.
The winemakers accept that it’s difficult to get the whole country to work together, but hope this cooperation between Eger as a representation of full-bodied, yet elegant, red wine and the naturally sweet wine of Tokaj will be an inspirational joint venture between two important Hungarian wine regions and two historically important wines, Szamarodni and Bikavér. István Szepsy stressed that the initiative is not only about sales but also expressing what the sanctity of wine and art mean to the two producers.
Szepsy Szamorodni 2012
Complex wine with attractive mineral characteristics with pink grapefruit, dried apricot and citrus peel, sultanas and sweet acacia honey with some oriental spice and mushroom notes. The sweetness is balanced by nervy acidity. Balanced, elegant and persistent.
St Andrea Nagy-Eged Hegy Bikavér Superior 2011
Intense black fruit, dried raspberry, cherry and plum, coffee, cinnamon, liquorice and smoke. A rich, complex wine with ripe, fine-grained tannins, crisp acidity and a long, spicy finish with plenty of fruit.
The Ars Sacra wines were presented to journalists at a press breakfast at the St Andrea Wine and & Gourmet Bar on 8 December, the same day as the premier of a brand-new documentary about István Szepsy, entitled ‘The Resurrector of Tokaj’, at the Urania National Film Theatre in Budapest. The film will also be broadcast on Duna World on 15 January, shortly before István Szepsy’s birthday.
Photos by Gábor Bakos
