Tokaj
Area 5,500 ha
Townships 28 townships, among others Mád, Erdőbénye, Tokaj, Bodrogkereszttúr, Tolcsva, Tállya, Erdőhorváti, Olaszliszka,
Most important single vineyards Úrágya, Messzelátó, Lapis, Szt. Tamás, Nyulászó, Kincsem, Király, Oremus, Mulatós, Lőcse, Mézesmály.
Centre Tokaj town at the confluence of Bodrog and Tisza, at the foot of Kopasz (bald) Hill.
Grape varieties 100% white grapes, 5 permitted grape varieties: Furmint, Hárslevelű, Sárgamuskotály, Kövérszőlő, Zéta
Soil structure volcanic, with an extremely thin top layer.
GPS coordinates 48.11250, 21.41250
Internationally renowned wine writer/communicator Oz Clark, in his renowned publication "Wine Atlas" says that he's only ever once given 100 points to any wine in a tasting, and this single wine was a Tokaji Aszú. While this is high praise indeed, it isn't that surprising since Tokaj possesses all the conditions to make perfect wine.
We are in Tokaj where an unprecedented combination of top terroir comprising perfect vineyard sites blessed with a cocktail of volcanic soils, located at the meeting point of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers provides plentiful botrytis or "noble rot". The moisture transforms a pair of complimentary local grapes, Furmint and Hárslevelű, into immensely complex sweet wines, with the help of an able supporting cast of a few other varieties. Look out also for the fragrant Sárgamuskotály, Kövérszőlő (the Transylvanian "fat grape" known as Grasa across the border in Romania) and the Zéta (also known as Oremus). The grapes are attacked by the botrytis which shrivels them and concentrates their sugars and flavours. The resulting wines are so impressive that sweetness isn't the first thing that comes into your mind; instead you're struck by the layers of complexity.
Of course, it's not all about noble rot and Aszú. This is such blessed winemaking terroir that it's also now producing world class dry wine, especially from Furmint but also Hárslevelű and Sárgamuskotály, and Late Harvest wines, the latter being a fresher, fruiter alternative to Aszú. The remarkable cocktail of soils, particularly the volcanic ones such as riolit, andezit, riolittufa and andezittufa, not only retain heat beautifully to ripen grapes evenly to yield plenty of fruit in the final wine, they also impart a remarkable mineral character. This combination of fruit and minerality is unbeatable and the stuff of winemaking dreams.
Hungary's premier region accounts for a 5,500 hectare area which in 85 km in length and 4 km width lies north of the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers. Tokaj has been included on the UNESCO's World Heritage list since 2002. It also has the world's oldest classification system, dating back to 1772 and Tokaj Aszú was indeed dubbed the "King of Wines, and Wine of King's" by Sun King Louis XIV. However, now some twenty years after the changes, foreign and local investors big and small alike have piled in and found their style and reached a critical mass, the time for Tokaj is once again arriving. Be a part of it.
Defining Aszú:
60 - 90 grammes p/l = 3 puttonyos
90 - 120 grammes p/l = 4 puttonyos
120 - 150 grammes p/l = 5 puttonyos
150 - 180 grammes p/l = 6 puttonyos
over 180 grammes p/l = Aszú Essenczia
previous wine region
