5 editor-picked estates growing Leanyka in Eger.
Where to taste Leanyka in Eger: the estates that grow it, how the region expresses the grape, and how to book a visit.
A five-hectare, four-plot family winery in Ostoros run by winemaker Tarnoczi Zoltan, producing additive-free wines from an unusually wide varietal range including Kadarka, Sangiovese and Ezerjo.
Tasting: Small-batch tastings by appointment; contact winemaker Tarnoczi Zoltan directly.
Signature wines: Abrakadabra, Kadarka
Tip: The range of grape varieties here is broader than almost any other small Eger cellar; ask what is pouring that week.
Founded in 2009 on the historic Almagyar archiepiscopal hillside, this estate farms heritage Eger varieties including a 60-year-old Leanyka block, fermenting spontaneously in oak and acacia wood.
Tasting: Vineyard visits, wine camping (borkemping) and a spa on the Almagyar hillside.
Signature wines: Erseki Leanyka, Menoire
Tip: The old-vine Leanyka block is one of the few heritage plantings still farmed on the Almagyar hillside.
St. Andrea's home cellar sits in Egerszalok rather than inside Eger's own Szepasszony-volgy tourist circuit, a village better known nationally for its mineral-terrace thermal spa, which keeps the winery's tasting room calmer than a central-Eger address would be.
Tip: Combine a St. Andrea tasting with the Egerszalok salt-hill thermal terrace next door; the two sit an easy walk apart in the same village.
Napbor is St. Andrea's entry-level Egri Csillag, drawing on the Egerszalok estate's Carpathian-basin white varieties for an approachable, everyday-priced introduction to the winery's white range.
Tip: Egerszalok is also home to Hungary's mineral-terrace thermal spa; pair a cellar stop with a soak, since the two sit within walking distance of each other.
Thummerer's Egri Csillag is one of the least expensive bottlings of the category from any established Eger producer, an easy entry point into the white blend that was created as a counterpart to Bikaver.
Tip: At this price it is a sound everyday white; step up to St. Andrea's or Gal Tibor's Csillag bottlings for more concentration if the occasion calls for it.