The colour is medium gold. On the nose papaya, mango, ananas and golden raisin. In the mouth smooth, sweet and fresh. The aftertaste is pretty long.
Tokaj is Hungary’s most famous and respected wine region, thanks mostly to its nectar-like, botrytized Tokaji sweet wines. The region is located in the northeast of Hungary, near the border with Slovakia.
The grape varieties used to make Tokaji wines are Furmint, Harslevelu and Sárga Muskotály (Muscat Blanc), in this order of importance. Furmint, which dominates the Tokaji blend, is renowned for its naturally high acidity, high sugar levels and spicy aromatic profile.
The aszú (botrytized) wines for which Tokaj is known are made from grapes affected by the Botrytis cinerea fungus. This beneficial fungus dehydrates the grape berries, concentrating their sugars.
The sweetness of Tokaji aszu wines is indicated in “puttonyos”. A puttonyo is a large basket used for harvesting grapes. The number of puttonyos of aszu grapes added to a 136-liter barrel of base wine was a traditional measure of the wine’s sweetness. In modern times this has been transposed into a more precise system based on grams per liter of residual sugar. Three puttonyos (as in the case of this exemplar) indicates 25g/l, the lowest sugar content and thus the least sweet of the aszu wine styles. Each additional puttonyo thereafter indicates an increase of 5g/l of residual sugar.
I received this bottle as a gift. In Switzerland it sells for some 40 CHF (half litre).
Country: Hungary
Region: Tokaj
Grapes: Furmint, Harslevelu, Sárga Muskotály/Muscat Blanc
Type: Sweet
Vintage: 2014
Producer: Oremus/Vega Sicilia
Price range: Extra (50-100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5