Can any CHARDONNAY beat White BURGUNDY???

I love wines with a great story behind them. The legend is that in the 16th century Ottoman invaders were closing in on the castles of Eger in northern Hungary. The locals got drunk on wine and when they came down the hill their teeth and their mouths were all stained red. Their eyes were bloodshot. It scared the Ottomans away who went back to their commanders and said I don't know what's happening with those locals. I think they were drinking bull's blood. Is this legend real? We don't even know. Fast forward to the 19th century that area in the north Eger started producing wine named bull's blood. It was also produced in the south of Hungary in the region of Czechoslovakia. The story is in the region of Czechoslovakia they liked the deep color of the wine so that's why they called it bull's blood. I want to make this Hungarian red wine blend great again. The reputation of bull's blood suffered during the Hungarian communist period. Big wineries were pumping out quantities of sour cheap inexpensive bull's blood especially in the UK. The most famous one that's available around the world is the first one I ever drank actually by Egervin. I don't know if that company still exists anymore but that wine is cheap. The label is crappy. The wine's okay for the price but there are much better because there's on the market now and they can be complex and age-worthy. Hungary is a country with a long history of wine production that doesn't have the notoriety of other wine producing countries in Europe. In fact hundreds and hundreds of years ago when it came to fine wine in Europe there was only France, the Mosel, the Rheingau in Germany for Riesling and Hungary the Austro-Hungarian empire for Tokaj. Tokaj is the most famous wine coming out of Hungary and one of my favorite wines in the world. However I think the wines in Hungary are just fascinating. I'm really excited about them. I used to live in the country part-time and travel often. In fact I was actually working on a wine book before the pandemic about Hungarian wine since I was going so often. I launched a Kickstarter that failed. It was pretty public. I was pretty embarrassed. That ended my wine writing career. I said you know what I'm just going to focus on video. Dikkever or Bull's Blood is a blended wine. It can be made in Eger where I think there's 12 to 13 permitted varieties. It can be made in Szexart in the south where I think there's 18 permitted varieties. Both regions you have to have at least four grapes in the blend. The wine is based on Kip Frankos what you might commonly know as Blau Frankisch or Lemberger in Germany. Blau Frankisch is being made famous by the Austrians however there are more plantings of the grape in Hungary than any other country. Another key component especially in Szexart in the south is Kedarka the spicy lighter red wine. You can also blend in Bordeaux grapes like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Blaubergender, Taran. Even in the south in Szexart you can put Sagrantino in it. Szexart in the south of Hungary is my favorite region for red wines although Villan is the most famous. In Szexart it's a hilly region. The hills run north to south. It reminds me of Burgundy in that regard because the right there's a great Hungarian plain. In Szexart they use a little bit more Kedarka so I feel like the wines can be a little bit spicier. They can definitely be a little bit riper. In the north in Eger where it's a little bit cooler it's a semi-volcanic region. You have three levels of Dikkever, Classicus, Superior and Grand Superior which are supposed to be better wines. Lower yields, aged in oak a little bit longer. Even though it's a cooler region they can be pretty concentrated because I think producers try to push the ripeness levels. In general I have always preferred the wines of Szexart to those of Eger. These wines offer tremendous value for money. When you're in Hungary you can get fantastic Bulls Blood on the shelf for under 15 euros. However the most expensive Bulls Blood, the most expensive Dikkever is in Eger by Saint Andrea Winery. Here today both of these wines are $24.99 in the US. I love Dikkevers because to me they're everything that I like about a red wine. You have more red fruit flavors combined with earthy notes that remind me a little bit of Sangiovese but then you combine that with some earthiness, some acidity like you're gonna get in Beaujolais and then some spiciness like you're gonna get from wines made out of Grenache. And these wines generally are lower in alcohol. I've seen them range anywhere from 12.5 to 13.5 percent. Red fruit, earthy, complex, affordable. I'm ready to go. Let's taste. Ready to rock and roll. Tasting out of my Spiegele Definition Bordeaux glasses. I bought these glasses for a video about high-end luxury glasses where I compared Zalto, Gabriel glass and this. If that video is out by now I'll pin it in the comments or just look out for it if it's not out by the time I release this. I Coravin these and had somebody mix them up for me. I wonder if I'll be able to pick out which one's sex hard and which one is egg air. Number one, cherry, cherry, cherry. Lots of cherry flavors. The fruit comes through. It's, it is earthy. That's what I really like. A little bit of smoke, a little bit of mocha. The thing about these wines is they're not overburdened with oak. It smells delicate. I think I like Bicovers and so much because it does kind of remind me of Sangiovese in the nose. A little bit, a little bit different but the red fruits really pop. Nice. Medium body. So again, not going to think whole milk, heavy cream, more like of a two percent feel. It's savory. I like about Bicovers is sometimes in these medium bodied wines the fruit can separate. They can either be too earthy but here the earth and the fruit come together perfectly. It's almost literally like having a dirt covered cherry, sour cherry. I know that doesn't sound good. This isn't super spicy. The tannins are fine. There's usually not a high level of tannin in these wines which I really like. It's just an enjoyable wine to drink. Let's go on to two here. Two smells a little bit more volcanic, a little bit more mineral. So maybe I'm thinking this is egg air. Mineral, smoke, cherry type flavors. Although the fruit was more pronounced in wine number one. You get some fall leaves type flavor. Actually sometimes Kekfrankos and Hungry which these wines are probably predominantly Kekfrankos because that's the rules for Bicover but they can actually be Pinot Noir-esque and Hungry. Really the aromas especially the earthiness, the red fruit. Get some raspberry type notes. I much prefer the nose on one but two I like the palate a lot. It's spicy, it's really silky, creamy. I like about both these wines there's just a touch of tannin but really they don't over grip or they don't overpower your mouth. I remember one of my friends who's a Hungarian winemaker said Hungarian reds are red wines for white wine drinkers. Let me compare the two again. When I retaste it, wine one has a little bit spiciness, has a little more fruit quality. Two definitely feels like a cool climate wine. The fruit isn't as concentrated. I want to let you know that I've launched channel memberships and there are several tiers. In the Grand Reserve tier which is the second tier I'm going to be doing a live monthly hangout tasting and members in that tier can come on screen share what they're drinking, share some stories. We can just geek out. Also I'm launching a live video podcast series and some tastings with winemakers. Again if you're in the Grand Reserve tier you can call into the show, come up on screen like a live radio show. There's also perks for the Reserve tier which is the first tier. Check it out by clicking the join button next to the subscribe button. I really appreciate the support. I think that number one is sexier, a little bit warmer, more fruit quality. I think this is Edgar. Now here's the thing. I prefer the flavors in wine number one. However, I think wine number two is a better wine. That's just my personal opinion. Let's get going here. Wine one. Both of these wines aren't gonna get the highest scores in the world but these are the wines I like to drink. The medium-bodied red wines made by winemakers that care. Sometimes like more medium-bodied reds that just are generic and are afterthought. These are wines that the winemaker obviously cares about. I think this is Sexard. I'm gonna give it 89 points. 89 points. I think it's delicious. Let's see here. Let's see. It is from Sexard. This is the Liver Signum Bicovert 2019. $24.99. This is half Blau Frankisch or Kek Frankosch. Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Cadarca, and Cabernet Franc. These are both brought in by Credo Imports. I like what they're doing. You know, Hungarian wines, these niche wines. It's a tall task to try to sell these wines in the USA, especially if you're dedicating yourself just to doing that. So I give them a lot of respect. Fruity, medium-bodied, delicious. I actually want to drink that. Number two, more mineral. It has a little bit more complexity. I think it had just a touch more length, too. I think I like the fruit. If I could combine everything, these two wines, it would get really, really high score. I'm gonna go 90 points on this. I like the minerals. If you like earthy reds with a mineral hit, I think you're gonna really enjoy this. 90 points. I thought it was Eger, and it is one of the classic producers in Eger. This is the Toth Ferenc Eger Bicovert Selection 2018. This is mostly Kek Frankosch Merlot, also $24.99. This isn't even their best Bicovert, but I think it's a very lovely bottle of wine. So tell me, have you ever had Bull's Blood before or any other Hungarian wines outside of Tokaj? Do you like them? I'd love to hear. Drop it in the comments below.