24. Tokaj Flashcards
What is the climate of Tokaj?
Moderate
Where are the best vineyards located in Tokaj?
Hillside slope with southerly aspects
Which geographical factor in Tokaj promotes the noble rot?
Humidity created by rivers Bodrog and Tizsa and their tributaries
Which grape varieties are used to make Tokaji?
- Furmint
- Harslevelü
- Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains)
What is the most widely planted grape variety in Tokaj?
Furmint
Tasting notes for Furmint
- High acid
- Flavors of apple when young
- Develop flavors of nuts and honey as they age
What kinds of wines can be made from Furmint?
- Premium quality dry white wines
- Sweet Azsu wines
What do the Harslevelü and Sarga Muskotaly grapes add to a blend?
Aromas
How is bottling different for dry and sweet wines in Tokaj?
Dry wines: 750 ml bottles
Sweet wines: 500 ml bottles
How do the grape growers in Tokaj categorize the grapes during harvest?
- Aszu (rotten): Affected by noble rot
- Szamorodni (as it comes): Partially affected by noble rot
- Unaffected grapes
What is the style of dry wines in Tokaj
The style differs from producer to producer, from simlple unoaked wines to more concentrated, oaked (new), age-worthy blends. Usually made with Furmint grape.
Are Szamorodni wines dry or sweet.
They can be both dry or sweet, depending on the amount of noble rot that is present
What is the minimum amount of aging required for Szamorodni wines?
2 years with 1 year in oak. But mostly they are aged longer
Traditionally, what technique is used for the production of dry Szamorodni wines?
The casks are not filled completely, so a flor-like yeast develops, which gives the wines a character like Fino-Sherry
How are Tokaji Aszu wines produced?
- First a base wine is made from healthy grapes
- The aszu grapes are gently mashed into a thick paste
- Before, during or after the fermentataion, paste from aszu berries are macerated in base wine (12-60 hours)
What determines the final sweetness of a Tokaji Aszu wine? How is it expressed?
- The amount of Aszu berries
- Puttony
Tasting notes of Classic Tokaji
- Deep amber color
- High acidity
- Intense aromas and flavors of honey, apricot, orange peel
What is Tokaji Eszencia?
Tokaji wine made from the free run juices of aszu berries
What is the legal minimum amount of sugar in Tokaji Eszencia wines?
450 gr/L
What is the alcohol level of Tokaji Eszencia wines? Why?
- Usually less than 5% abv
- Because the must is so sweet that it takes years to ferment and even after that time wines remain low in alcohol
What are the minimum sugar levels and aging requirements for Tokaji wines in traditional and new (2013) laws?
- Traditional law: Minimum sugar 60 gr/L, (for Aszu Eszencia 180 gr/l), 24 months in oak, could only be released from the January in the 4th year after harvest
- 2013 law: 120 gr/l (5 puttonyos of traditioanl law), 18 months in oak, could only be released from the January in the 3rd year after harvest
How are the most modern style sweet wines of Tokaj labelled?
Late harvest
How is the production of modern style botrytized sweet wines of Tokaj different than the production of Tokaji Aszu wines?
They are produced by fermenting botrytized grapes (like Sauternes or TBA) rather than macerating
