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Exploring Tokaj with Taste Hungary

 

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Recently I took a break from all things Turkey and, as an early birthday present to myself, spent five days in Hungary to learn about their wines. However, where to start? I’ve had enough of driving myself around Turkey so I knew I wanted a tour. That’s how I found Taste Hungary. Making arrangements through Taste Hungary was the best decision. They arranged two private wine tours for me, one to Tokaj and one to Somló. I also spent some time at their Tasting Table in Budapest attending their Hungarian Wine Crash Course and

generally tasting. And shopping!

More on the Tasting Table and Somló later though. This is all about Tokaj. I’ve had a couple few sweet Tokaji wines in the past but have had some trouble tracking down dry wines. Luckily I was able to snag some through Blue Danube the last time I was in the US. Between those wines, reading Robert Smyth’s Hungarian Wine: A Tasting Trip to the New Old World, watching The Unknown Wine Caster’s cast on Hungary, and trolling through Taste Hungary’s blog, I felt like I’d done my homework. I highly doubt that anything could have sufficiently prepared me for my trip to Tokaj.

What’s in a name?

The region of Tokaj, or more properly Tokaj-Hegyalja covers 5,800 hectares in northeastern Hungary. Generally one of the country’s cooler regions, the region enjoys long, sunny summers and dry autumns. Volcanic activity from quite a few millennia ago has left its stamp on the region in the tracts of tuff and other volcanic-influenced soils where Furmint, Hárslevelű, Sárga Muskotály, Zéta, Kabar, and Kövérszőlő are grown. The most well-known, Furmint accounts for about 60% of plantings with Hárslevelű

coming second with 30%.

Tokaj or Tokaji? Actually that always confused me. Smyth clarifies this mystery in his book: “Tokaj (pron. TOCK-eye) is the name of the small town that has given its name to the region as a whole, … Tokaji, with a final ‘i’, is the Hungarian adjectival form of the name and means ‘of or from Tokaj’ … Hence, ‘Tokaji Aszú’ means Aszú from Tokaj.” Regardless of what you call it, you have to respect its long history:

1571 the first recorded mention of Tokaji Aszú – 1631 the method for making Aszú is laid out – 1655 hand selecting botrytised berries is regulated – 1730 the first classification of first and second vineyards – 1737 royal decree delimited the area – 1772 official vineyard classification completed, arguably the world’s first such.

Vinum Regnum, Rex Vinorum

At the French Royal court at Versailles, Louis XV presented his precious Tokaj wine to (at the time) mistress Madame de Pompadour, referring to it as “Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum” (“Wine of Kings, King of Wines”). The moniker stuck. While dry wine, championed by iconic winemaker István Szepsy, is becoming more popular and some sparkling wines are emerging, the majority of Tokaji wines remain sweet. Previously, I thought German sweetness classifications were tricky. And then I met the Tokaj classifications. Sweet Tokaji wine is divided into five categories (several of which have sub categories). The key to many of them is the aszú, or botrytis-infected, berry.

Eszencia – The rarest and most expensive of all, Eszencia is made with free-run aszú grape juice. It takes several years, YEARS, to ferment, rarely manages more than 5-6% alcohol, and can exceed 800 grams per liter of residual sugar.

Aszú – Also made with aszú grapes (ergo the name), Aszú wine is made by adding the infected grapes to wine (anything from juice, fermenting, fermented, or even sweet wine). Made in 136-liter barrels, the sweetness of the end wine is determined by how many puttony, or 25 kg measures, of aszú  grapes are added. These wines come in two sub categories, 5-puttonyos and 6-puttonyos with 120-150 g/l and 150-180 g/l residual sugar respectively.

Fordítás – This is a sadly dying out category made from a second pressing of aszú grapes.

Szamorodni – Szamorodni comes from a Polish word meaning ‘as it comes’. Unlike Eszencia and Aszú, if a winemaker wants to make a Szamorodni style wine he picks (and uses) the entire bunch rather than the individual botrytis-infected berries. It can be fermented completely dry, under a layer of yeast like the flor in Sherry, or sweet.

Late Harvest – Fresher, lighter, late harvest Tokaji wines less stringent ageing requirements and can be released much earlier than the above categories. These can be made with anything from late harvest grapes to berries infected with botrytis.

Oremus Winery

Owned by the family behind Spain’s Vega Sicilia, Oremus has a remarkable cellar system that was dug deep into the regions tuff. I learned several very interesting things from my tour at Oremus, chief among them about black mold. This was not the black mold that caused my parents to rip out paneling in our basement family room and bleach the walls underneath. This black mold, which covers the walls, ceiling, and bottles of the cellar, comes as a result of the intensely sugary wine evaporating into the air.  After our tour we tasted a range of Oremus’ wines, both dry and sweet.

Mandolás 2017 – 1oo% Furmint fermented 50/50% in stainless and oak. The nose exuded mineral, citrus, and fruit. Bright with mouthwatering and round acid, fruit, and hints of lanolin. Very fresh and easy.

Mandolás 2011 – Proving Furmint’s ageability, the 2011 was also from a warmer year. Deeper in color than the 2017, more gold than the 17’s green-lemon. When poured I found full ripe fruits with a floral core. Again round acidity but overall rounder and creamier than the 17. Exotic fruits, banana, and cream.

Szamorodni 2014 – 50% Furmint, 30% Hárslevelű and 20% made up from the remaining allowed varieties. 2014 was apparently a cold and rainy vintage for Tokaj but Oremus still pulled out a lovely Szamorodni here with 13% abv and 84 g/l residual sugar. Aromas of lanolin, beeswax, dried apricot exploded from the glass. Sweet and a bit viscous but still fresh and bright with complex layers of flavors and a long spicy ginger finish.

Aszú 5-Puttonyos 2010 – If 2014 was a difficult vintage, 2010 was a nightmare. So rainy that the area flooded. Twice. And yet, this beautiful Aszú happened anyway. Super intense, deep gold color on the pour. I wanted to dive into the glass and swim around in the bouquet which included tobacco flowers, lanolin, smoke, and sundried apricots. Viscous but not cloying with 11% abv and 150 g/l residual sugar. Complex with a never ending finish and all sorts of dried fruit flavors like apricot, pineapple, and mango.

Aszú 6-Puttonyos 1999 – I was told during my tour that when an Aszú is 10 years old it finally starts to become and Aszú. So this 1999 from Oremus was like an early adolescent. The deep brown-amber color in the glass reflected the heady aromas of toasted walnuts, dried fruits, and exotic spices. Stepping down even further on the alcohol scale with just 9% abv but 200+ g/l residual sugar. Zingy acid balanced the wine’s thickness. The word “complex” began to loose meaning to me here as I fell further down the rabbit hole of dried fruits, exotic spices, dark toffee, and coffee flavors.

Eszencia 2009 – The mythic Eszencia! I drank it from a glass and not the fancy glass spoon but still this was an experience. Deep amber in color with aromas of dry honey, toast, toasted nuts, and dried fruit. At only 3% abv can you still really call this a wine? A crazy 500+ g/l residual sugar it also blew my mind as to how this wasn’t a solid. Thick like honey slipping down my throat with flavors of petrol and toasted…well everything.

Disznókő Winery

Stop number two was Disznókő for a gorgeous lunch at the onsite restaurant and a wine tasting in the winery’s cellar.

Hárslevelű 2016 – 100 % Hárslevelű began with a floral and ripe yellow fruit nose. Round and medium-bodied with racy acid. Very dry palate full of ripe, exotic fruits. Very nice.

Late Harvest 2017 – 100% Furmint with aromas of beeswax, crisp yellow apple, apricot, and nuts. Balanced and far too easy to drink with flavors of flowers and lots of ginger and exotic spices in the back.

Aszú 5-Puttonyos 2010 – “Mostly” Furmint I was told here. Relatively young for an Aszú but already a deep amber in the glass. Nutty aromas complimented dried pineapple, sun dried apricots, lychee, ginger, and all spice. This is the wine you give people who say they don’t like sweet wine. It did not taste sweet at all. Mouth puckering acid kept the wine balanced like a finely-honed blade and brought out flavors similar to those in the nose with the addition of orange peel.

Erzsébet Pince

After a stroll through the town of Tokaj we arrived at our final winery for the day, Erzsébet Pince. Full disclosure…I thoroughly enjoyed each winery and all the wines I tried on this trip. But this was overall my favorite.

Estate Furmint 2017 – Lately I’ve really been into fresh, zippy white wines. So this one was absolutely my jam. While 100% Furmint, this is a blend from two of the winery’s vineyards, with 90% coming from its Pécsi (nearly) 100 year old vines. Not only a blend of vineyards but also a 10% stainless steal and 90% old oak blend. Aromas of stones, stone fruit, and tropical fruits wafted out the glass. Sipping it just about smacked me in the face with spritzy acid and tropical fruits chased by savory flavors and mineral.

Estate Furmint 2018 – Like in Turkey, 2018 was an unusually warm year that had many wineries, Erzsébet Pince included, harvesting early. The warmer year was really evident in the glass in notes of riper, deeper tropical fruits. This blend was slightly different in that it was 30% stainless instead of the 2016’s 10%. Juicy melon and pineapple dominated the palate.

Bestek dűlő 2018 – Bestek dűlő is one of the winery’s Grand Cru vineyards making this a single vineyard blend of Furmint, Hárslevelű, and Kabar. A little bit of French oak brought out aromas of apple, flowers, and vanilla orchids. Dry with round and long acid, savory flavors mixed with mango and mineral on the palate.

Király dűlő 2016 – From another of the winery’s Grand Cru vineyards, Király dűlő (located in Mád). Fermented and aged in French oak, this 100% Furmint revealed mineral and tropical fruits on the nose. Very dry with that rounded acid I’d been feeling all day, initial fruit flavors gave way to a mouthful of savory. The acid in this one filled my mouth and stuck around like tannins would. I was terribly sorry to hear it had been sold out.

Fordítás 2013 – I was thrilled to try this dying out style. For the life of me I don’t understand why its fallen out of favor as it offers a lot of the flavor profile as Aszú but at a more economical cost. A pale, clear gold in the glass it began with apricot and nectarine, honeycomb, and raw walnuts. Despite the 120 g/l residual sugar, I didn’t think this tasted very sweet. Clean and light on the palate with flavors that reflected the nose I thought this quite charming.

Aszú 6-Puttonyos 2013 – A “baby” in Aszú terms this could go on for decades still but was already showing a lot of promise. Peach preserves, honey, and lightly toasted nuts filled the air with their aromas. With 225 g/l residual sugar this was definitely, in every way, the big brother of the Fordítás. It had a very sticky jam character, right down to the surprising flavor of strawberry jam of all things followed by a spicy finish.

Aszúeszencia 2003 – In addition to being 10 years older than the previous Aszú, this both spent more time ageing in the barrel and the aszú berries soaked longer in the base wine (45 hours vs 15). Such an interesting nose on this one, savory and sage and something almost meaty. Flavors of orange peel marmalade, quince jam, and linden honey with a spicy but somehow dry finish despite the 200 g/l residual sugar!

This may have been the last winery in my Tojak tour but not the end to my Hungarian adventures! Check back soon to read about my visit to Somló!