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Monarchia Wines: Introducing Quality Hungarian Wines to the U.S.

© Eve Carr

"We believe that by emphasizing quality, we can rediscover the wines of the Carpathian Basin," says Monarchia Chairman and principal stockholder Nimrod Kovacs, who escaped from Hungary as a young man and then later returned to his native country as a communications executive. Wine, however, is his passion, as evidenced by his impressively stocked wine cellar, spacious enough to allow him to dine with at least a dozen or so of his closest friends and colleagues.

Considering the intense competition, Kovacs has set up a lofty goal - especially since he wants to introduce quality Hungarian wines to the U.S., where the competition is stiff and dominated by the big guys. But, by establishing long-term relationships with individual wine producers who want to concentrate on producing quality wine rather than marketing, these artisans can zero in on what they do best.

Dr. Pok Tamas (in Hungarian you list the last name first), a noted winemaker in the Eger wine region of Hungary, for example, is among this new breed of winemakers that is making excellent inroads in producing wines that reflect his dedication to producing top-quality, yet affordable, wines.

"Emphasizing classic concern for individual terroirs, he is always open to experimentation," Monarchia Global Marketing Director Monika Elling says. "Tamas has succeeded in restoring the prestige of classic Hungarian varietals such as the Leanyka and Zengo, and features other native grapes in Bordeaux-style blends such as his exquisite Kekfrankos based Rhapsody in Red, and the outstanding Egri Cuvee."

As Chief Enologist for Monarchia, he works closely with other winemakers in this consortium to oversee quality control for all of Monarchia's wine production and portfolio, which emphasizes outstanding quality and limited production. The Monarchia Estate Selection, for example, features wines with limited 500- and 1,000-case production, while the wines in their Gold Selection feature super-premium wines. Their Szekszardi [sek-sahr-dee] Kekfrankos Barique Selection 2000 ($33), by noted winemaker Takler Frenec, for example, was voted the number one wine in Hungary and won a gold medal in Bordeaux at the International Wine Challenge 2003. (Only 750 cases were produced.)

"A masterpiece of complexity," is how wine-tasters on the Select Wines panel described it. "Flavors of morello and bing cherry, berries and chocolate create the number one wine in Hungary...."

That's quite an endorsement from wine experts.

If you like semi-dry white wines, then the Tokaj-Hetszolo Tokaji Cuvee 2000, ($13) made from 90 percent Furmint and 10 percent Harslevelu [harsh-le-va-lu] is something you'll want to taste. Select Wine tasters describe it s having fine acidity and a few grams of residual sugar to round out the taste this light, medium-bodied wine with a crisp clean finish.