Masters of Wine Bullish on Eger Whites, Bearish on Bull's Blood
Several "Masters of Wine" visited Hungary for the second time last week, and on their way to Tokaj for an event sponsored by the Tokaj Renaissance stopped in Eger to taste the local wines. According to deluxe.hu, their take on egri borok was roughly the same as expressed by a similar delegation of Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers in Budapest a few weeks ago in Budapest: growers should concentrate on local varietals, and barrels should be used with caution. Often compared to Nobel Prize-winners, the world's Masters of Wine - who receive their titles from something called the "Wine and Spirit Education Trust" - are few in number and large in influence. Which is why it's notable that they apparently favored the whites they tasted in Eger, as well as some kékfrankos-based reds, over the bikavér (Bull's Blood) that has long put Eger on the world's wine-making map.
This is not surprising, as many makers of bikavér are guilty of the sin of over-oaking wines that by most international measures are under-ripe. However, according to the article none of the masters came down too heavily on any of the Eger wines - they were all pronounced "above average" - perhaps because some of the visiting critics were a little spooked by the whole "blood" thing.
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Hi, I wasn't on the trip but I am an MW and just thought I'd point out the the MW qualification is not given out by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), but by the Institite of Masters of Wine, an independent body. To learn more go here http://www.mastersofwine.org/. The WSET organise different wine exam levels up to diploma, offered in many countries. Their diploma (or equivalent) is one prerequiste for taking the exam.