Ch. 13 – Tokaj Flashcards
Tokaj history
Aszu first mentioned in 1571
18th century - one of first controlled appellations
Offered sweetness before crystal sugar became available - drunk by royals
1945 - communism changed towards quantity production
Foreign investments in 1990s (AXA, Vega Sicilia, Hugh Johnson)
Climate
Zemplen Mountains
Moderate continental climate
Sheltered from cold norherly winds by forested mountains.
Mainly slopes to reduce freeze and frost
Important southern exposure for sun reception
500-600mm rain - half during growing season - irrigation is not permitted
Warm and dry Autumns
Rivers Tisza and Bodrog - morning fog and warm sunny afternoons.
Soil
Hundreds of extinct volcanoes
Deep volcanic bedrock with complex variety of soils
Nyirok - volcanic soil which is said to produce the most powerful wines
Loess - sandy silt with high clay content - ligher delicate wines
Soft soil - vine can root deeply, no problem with deficiency of water and nutrients
Fungus in Tokaj’s cellars
Zasmidium callare
Believed to regulate humidity
Vineyard management
Traditionally - single post with high density
Now grown on trellis (replacement cane or cordon with VSP) and lower densitions 4000-5000 per ha
Mechanization allowed but required for Aszu
Hazards - powdery mildew, grey rot - Managing canopy
- wild boars and birds
Average yields
Aszu - 2-3 hl/ha
Dry - 30-40 hl/ha
Grape varieties
6 permitted for Tokaji PDO
Furmint
Harslevelu
Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains)
Furmint
69%
versatile and capable of producing high quality wines from dry to sweet styles.
Late-ripening (needs long season)
Retains high acidity
thick-skinned but particularly susceptible to botrytis
naturally accumulates high levels of sugar
Dry wines can be also ageworthy (often aged in oak)
Due to high sugar they can be full bodied with high alcohol
Lemon apple pear. Can develop honey, nuts with age
Sweet styles: dried apricot, mango
Harslevelu
18%
Fruitier than Furmint
White peach, orange blossom
Mainly supporting role in blends adding perfume
Sarga Muskotaly
Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains
9%
adds floral otes in blends
also appears as varietal wine
Grapes affected by Botrytis
Aszu
Winemaking of Aszu
Too concentrated to be pressed - therefore macerated in must, fementing must or base wine to draw out sugars and flavour (aszu can be mashed into paste)
Usually 12-60 hours (12-20degrees)
If uncrushed grapes are used - punched down regularly
Maceration in must - lightest styles
Maceration in wine - med.
Maceration in fermenting must - strongest expression but also can extract bitterness.
After maceration grapes are pressed and must is fermented (usually cultured yeast for reliability) in steel or barrels
Many producers stop ferment by chilling, racking or adding SO2. Otherwise it stops naturally around 180g/L RS
Aszu expression
Deep amber
high acidity
low to med alcohol
Intense aroma of orange peel, apricots, honòey
Picking for Aszu
several passes - collecting individual berries
Ageing requirements for Aszu
min 18 months in oak
Hungarian usually used (often from Zemplen mountains above region)
traditional 136L Gonci barrels, now switching to 300-500L
Bottling requirement for Aszu
500ml clear glass traditional bottle
Gonci
Traditional 136L barrel
Classification until 2013
Puttonyos scale - number of buckets of asxu added to gonci barrel.
Minimum level of sugar for aszu
120g/l RS (equivalent of 5 puttonyos
can be labelled 3 or 4 puttonyos
When can wine be labelled 5 or 6 putonnyos
above 150g/l RS
labelling is not mandatory
Eszencia
Extremely rare and expensive
From tiny volume of free-run juice that trickles from Aszu berries
It can take years to ferment (still reaches very low alcohol - usually less than 5%)
Min sugar 450g/l
full bodied, pronounced, concentrated flavours, high acidity.
Retain freshness and age for decades
Late harvest
Maceration process is not used
Recent style
Lower proportion of botrytized grapes than Aszu
Ligher bodied and less concentrated.
Min. RS 45g/l
Oak ageing is not compulsory
Ready for release much earlier, typically 12-16 months after harvest
Szamorodni
Polish word for ‘as it comes’
Made from whole bunches with varying amounts of botrytised and healthy grapes.
2 styles
- Edes - sweet
- Szaraz - dry
Min RS for Edes 45g/l
Must be aged in oak for 6 months
Bottled in 500ml Tokaji bottle
Fresher style than Aszu
Dry style is aged under thin film of flor for up to 10 years without topping up. The wine is protected from excessive oxidation and develops nutty and green apple aroma
Dry wines
Historically by-product
Triped in the last 5 years
New vineyards on higher and windier sites above fog zone, use of canopy management
Under PDO dry wines must contain at least 85% of the variety on label
Single vineyard wines - Dulo
Wine Law
PDO wines must be bottled in the region
Aszu Eszencia Late Harvest Szamorodni Dry styles PGI Zempleni - for international varieties and wines with higher yieds than allowed for PDO
Wine Business
average holding size is between 1 and 2ha
Many growers have contracts with larger producers to provide aszu berries.
Gran Tokaj sources from over 2000 growers and produces around 35% of whole region
Aszu accounts for 10% (vintage variations)
Dry wines 21%
The rest is inexpensive semi-dry wine for home market.
Export 40% - Eastern Europe, China, France, UK, USA
Which river flood frequently?
Creating perfect conditions for noble rot
Bodrog
