24 - Tokaj Flashcards
What is Tokaj famous for?
Premium botrytised sweet wines, but now gaining reputation for late harvest also.
Describe the climate and geographic area?
It has a moderate continental climate. The best vineyards are are located on hillside slopes with southernly aspects. The Bordrog and Tisza rivers and their may tributaries help generate early morning humidity necessary for for the development of noble rot.
What are the three principal grape varietals used in making Tokaji wines?
- Furmint
- Harslevelu
- Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat a Petits Grains)
Describe the common profile of Furmint in Tokaj?
The most widely planted variety and makes concentrated, high acid white wines with flavours of apples when youn, developing into nuts and honey as they age. it can make premium quality dry white wines, but due to it’s late ripening and susceptibility to botrytis it is better known as the principal grape variety used for sweet wine production in sweet Aszu wines.
In Tokaj, what size bottles do they use for dry wines and sweet wines?
Dry wines come in 75cl and sweet wines come in 50cl bottles.
in Tokaj, a producer will often make a number of different styles of wine in each vintage. How does this affect harvesting?
Pickers separate grapes into three different categories during the harvest. When noble rot is widespread, pickers will pass through the vineyards several times selecting different aszu grapes. Grapes unaffected by noble rot are collected separately.
In Tokaj, dry wines without botrytis is gaining importance, why is this?
It allows producers to make wine in years where there is not much noble rot. These dry wines can vary in style from simple, unoaked wine that are drunk early, to more concentrated age worthy blends, which often fermented and aged in new oak.
What is Tokaji Szamorodini?
These wines may be dry or sweet, depending on the amount of noble rot that is present. These wines must be aged in cask for minimum of one year and be two years old before release. Most wines are aged for longer. casks are not completely filled as to allow and flor like yeast to form on top similar to Fino sherry production. This doesn’t happen in sweet wine production though.
What are the three styles of Aszu wines?
- Tokaji Azu
- Tokaji Eszencia
- Modern style sweet wines (Late Harvest)
How is Tokaji Aszu made?
Before, during or after fermentation aszu berries are macerated in the base wine. Maceration usually lasts for 12 - 60 hours. Using uncrushed aszu berries avoids the extraction of bitterness in the flavour.This mixture is pressed and then the wine is matured for a period of time in oak.
Explain what Tokaji Eszencia is?
Extremely rare wines. It is made using just the free run juice of the aszu berries. The must is so sweet it can take years to ferment and even after that time the wines remin very low in alcohol (less than 5% abv). legal minimum level of residual sugar is 450 g/l. This balanced by high acidity and wines have a highly concentrated flavour. They are able to mature and maintain their freshness for a century or more.
In Toakj what rating system do they use to show levels of residual sugar.
The use the scale of Puttonyos from three to six.
What is the ageing requirement since 2013 for Tokaji Aszu category?
A minimum of 18 months on oak is needed and now wines can be released the January of the third year after harvest.
