24 - Tokaj

Question 1

Where is the Tokaj region located?

Answer 1

In the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in the far north east of Hungary, close to the Slovakian border.

Question 2

What is Tokaj’s climate?

Answer 2

Moderate.

Question 3

What vineyard factors contribute to the areas suitability for viticulture?

Answer 3

Best vineyards are on south facing slopes .

The Bodrog and Tisza rivers and their tributaries provide the early morning humidity needed for noble rot.

Question 4

What are the 3 main grape varieties used for making Tokaji?

Answer 4

Furmint - Acidity and fruit flavour. 
Harslevelu - Contributed Perfume. 
Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains) - Aromatic quality

Question 5

What style of wine does Furmint make?

Answer 5

Late ripening, and makes concentrated high acid wines with aromas of apples when young, moving to honey and nuts with age.

Question 6

What size bottles are Tokaji wines sold in?

Answer 6

50cl

Question 7

How many categories are Tokaji grapes divided into before winemaking?

Answer 7

3
Unaffected
Aszu - Individual botritized grapes.
Szamorodni - “As it comes” - Bunches, partially affected by noble rot.

Question 8

What types of dry wines are made in Tokaj?

Describe their styles and the contributing factors to these styles.

Answer 8

Non-botritized - Produced in years when there is not much noble rot.
Vary in style from simple, unoaked, made to be drunk young, to more concentrated age worthy blends, fermented and matured in oak.

Tokaji Szamorodni - Made from grapes that are partially botritized and may be dry or sweet, depending on noble rot levels present. Must be aged in cask for 1 year and be 2 years old before release. Most aged longer.

Casks for dry szamorodni ar not fully filled to encourage flor-like yeast similar to Fino Sherry. Similar character develop. Flor-like yeast doesn’t play a role in sweet styles, which have an oxidative character. But trend is to minimise this by filling casks fully.

Question 9

What are the sweet styles fo Tokaj wines?

Answer 9

Aszu
Eszencia
Modern Style

Question 10

What is the Tokaji Aszu process

Answer 10

Starts with base wine from healthy grapes.
Before, during or after fermentation, aszu grapes are macerated in base wine for 12-60 hours.
Mixture is pressed and wine matured in oak.

Question 11

What determines the sweetness of the final wine?

Answer 11

Amount of aszu berries added. Was traditionally added as a paste, but using uncrushed minimises transfer of bitter notes.

Question 12

Describe a classic sweet Tokaji

Answer 12

Deep Amber, H acid, Int aroma and flavour of orange peel, apricot, honey.

Question 13

What is Tokaji Eszencia?

Describe it’s production

Answer 13

Extremely rare.

Made using just the free run juice of the aszu berries.

The must is so sweet it can take years to ferment and will still remain low in alcohol. (less than 5%)

Legal minimum residual sugar level us 450g/L.
V. H acid and enormously concentrated flavours that can mature and stay fresh for over 100 years.

Question 14

When did Tokaji wine laws change?

Answer 14

As of the 2013 vintage

Question 15

What was the minimum residual sugar level for Tokaji Aszu? What were the old ageing requirements for Tokaji Aszu?

Answer 15

60g/L

24 months in oak. Only released the January in the 4th year after harvest.

Sweetest wines could be labelled Aszu Eszencia. 180g/L minimum sugar.

Question 16

What has the new minimum residual sugar level for Tokaj Aszu been raised to?

What are wines below this level now labelled as?

How have ageing requirements changed?

Answer 16

120g/L

Late Harvest of Tokaji Szamorodni depending on how they’re made.

18 months in oak, released in the January of the 3rd year after harvest.