Bolyki Egri Bikaver Eger’s Bull’s Blood 2018

Kpo says: Woah Bull’s Blood! One becomes powerful like a bull after drinking! Power!!

A classic Egri Bikavér from the Bolyki Winery, this award-winning Bull’s Blood showcases an approachable side of this legendary Hungarian red wine.

Attractive, deep ruby in colour. The spicy nose shows a core of dark stewed fruit and a hint of chocolate. Rich, chewy palate with intense black pepper spice, followed by dark cherry and blackcurrant notes and a touch of vanilla. Lively acidity, tight tannic structure, and long mineral finish.

This wine is a blend of no fewer than 6 grape varieties: blaufränkisch (an old austrian variety, known also as kékfrankos in Hungary and burgund mare in Romania), cabernet franc, merlot, zweigelt (Austria’s most planted red grape), blauburger (austrian crossing of portugieser and blaufränkisch) and portugieser (a high-yielding, early-ripening grape variety planted widely in Austria and Germany, commonly known as kékoporto in Hungary). This particular wine is made out of grapes that were sourced from vines planted on brown forest soils and has been aged for 18 months in hungarian oak barrels, from which 30% are new and the other 70% used (at second and third use).

According to the local traditions the name Egri Bikavér (Bull’s Blood of Eger) goes back to the times of the siege of Eger in 1552 and the Turkish occupation.It is said that István Dobó, captain of the castle had red wine brought from the cellars of the castle to encourage the soldiers downhearted by the fights. The soldiers regained their power and continued the fight with new enthusiasm. The women took the wine to the soldiers fighting on the walls, but the Turks having seen only the beneficial effects of the wine and the red liquid slubbering on their beard got really scared. The news soon got spread in the Turkish army that the soldiers in Eger drank blood, namely the blood of the bull. So the Turks did not dare to fight the defenders who allegedly gained the power of the bull from its blood.

Soil type: Brown forest soil
Fermentation: Spontaneous, in stainless steel tank
Ageing: 18 months in oak barrels