The regions of Tokaj and
Sauternes have more than a few things in common, but to me the most remarkable
similarity is that the wines from these regions are barely ever described by
their grape varieties but described by their region of origin.
The region of Tokaj is found in
Hungary and, arguably, make some of the best sweet wines in the world – and have
been doing so for hundreds of years. Many people struggle with the wine as it
seems difficult to pronounce and countries such as France and England have
distorted the spelling of the region to suit the phonetics of their language.
Tokaj is simply pronounced Tok-eye.
Wines have been made in the
region of Tokaj since the 1570’s according to historical records and were very
much in vogue in the 18th and 19th centuries when it was
favoured by royalty, Pope’s, famous authors and the upper echelon of high society
at the time.
There are five permitted grape
varieties that can be grown and cultivated in the region, the most important of
which are Furmint, Hárslevelű and Yellow Muscat with the majority of wines being
made with the first two aforementioned. The method of production depends – much
in the same way as Sauternes – on the development of botrytis cinerea, the noble rot that attacks the grapes under the
perfect conditions that concentrates the sugars in the grape, giving the wine
its sweet nuances.
There is one thing that buyers of
Tokaj need to know when they are buying and that is the number of ‘puttonyos’ labeled
on the front of the bottle. The word ‘puttonyos’ combined with the number 3 to
6 simply indicates the level of sweetness and is not necessarily an indicator
of quality.
Tokaj Aszu is the name for the
famous sweet wines and the level of sweetness is determined by how many baskets
of the sweet, rotten berries are blended with the dry base wine to create
differing levels of sweetness. A ‘3 puttonyos’ wine is the lowest level of
sweetness which usually is sweet but with a crisp acidic finish. This ranges up
to the sweetest classification ‘6 puttonyos’ which is the sweetest Aszu made.
There is a sweeter wine made in
Tokaj and this is labeled Eszencia. Fundamentally, Furmint, the most popular
grape used for the production of sweet wines from Tokaj is not indifferent to
Riesling. It has the ability to make stunning dry wines (of which there is a
large production in the region) all the way up to 6 puttonyos or Eszencia.
I was fortunate enough to sample
two sweet wines from Tokaj last week that are available here in Hong Kong and
from the Tokaj-Maroti winery. This winery has been engaged in winemaking for
generations and the family currently owns a small vineyard and makes wine in
the traditional way that has been passed down through the generations.
The wines themselves are characterised
by the terroir from which they come with four major factors playing their part
in the regions climate. The protection offered to the crop from Mount Zemplen,
the warm winds blowing in from the south-southwest, constant humidity levels
controlled by the Tisza and Bodrog Rivers and the long sunny ‘Indian summers’
so common in Hungary.
The wines tasted were the Maroti Tokaj
3 Puttonyos Aszu 2006 which was crisp and light with a present but certainly
not dominant sweetness that I thought would work well as much as an aperitif as
a digestif, but could also work well through a meal as the sweetness is not
cloying or dominant.
The second wine was the Maroti
Tokaj 6 Puttonyos Aszu 2000 a wine born from a very fine vintage year and
reflective so in the quality and exquisite balance found in the wine. Sweet it
is yes, but, with such a well balanced wine you find the sugar, fruit and acidity
all in perfect harmony. This wine will last for many decades to come if you
have the patience to keep it in the cellar, but is insanely enjoyable right
now. Either way, you will not be disappointed and, in my view, the apricot, fig
and honey aromas and flavours will only intensify over time.
Tokaj-Maroti wines can be found
in Hong Kong through Veritas wines and can be contacted by e-mail on info@veritas-wine.com or for more
information you can go to their website www.veritas-wine.com
No comments:
Post a Comment