Kovacs Nimrod Monopole 777 Pinot Noir

Tasting notes:

Kovacs Nimrod Monopole 777 Pinot Noir. Fragrant sandalwood and herbal medicinal notes follow through into cherry, wild strawberry, raspberry and pepper spice aromas. Gentle characters of leather and tobacco also add complexity to this intriguing Pinot. Moderate tannins with good body. The long aging in oak barrels gives this wine a velvety and round finish making it very moreish.

Food Pairing:

Rare, spring lamb; mushroom risotto; duck.

Producer/Region:

Kovács Nimród Winery – a fantastical sounding name which is making a name for itself in Hungary. If you Google ‘Nimród’, you’re presented with a mixed bag of definitions including a skilful hunter, the great-grandson of Noah. And, also a sky plane but you can now add to this a world-class winery located in Eger, one of Hungary’s most premium wine regions.

Here, wines are expertly crafted from grapes hand harvested in the top three terroirs. These Grand Cru and Premier Cru classified vineyards enjoy a cool climate similar to Burgundy, which is why (along with producing premium wines) Eger is referred to as ‘the Hungarian Burgundy’. The sites are planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. But also feature traditional Hungarian varietals including Furnint and Kékfrankos.

The winery is situated in seven continuous cellars on the historic Verőszala Street in Eger. Which in the 18th Century was lined with wine press houses erected above each cellar to handle onsite grape processing. After the grape juice was fermented, the wines were stored in barrel in the cool cellars below.

Today, owner Nimród Kovács, a retired international businessman and philanthropist, has resurrected this wine house and guided by this tradition, continues to make wine in a similar way, albeit aided by 21st century technology.

This particular wine is made from the Dijon ‘777’ clone of Pinot Noir grapes exclusively selected from their Noszvaj vineyard sites of Nagyfai and Nyilasmár Monopole. The wine has been aged in 225L and 500L oak barrels (55% Hungarian and 45% French) for 15 months, 33% were new barrels. Only 5200 bottles were produced.