Ch. 13 – Tokaj

Question 1

Climate in Tokaj

Answer 1

Foothills of the Zemplen Mountains

Moderate continental climate

Sheltered from cold northerly winds by forested mountains.

Mainly planted on south-facing slopes to reduce winter freeze and frost risk

Overall rainfall is relatively low but half falls during growing season (irrigation is not permitted)

Warm and dry Autumns

The Tisza and Bodrog rivers meeting in Tokaj
- Bodrog floods, creating shallow marshes
- morning fog and warm sunny afternoons.

Question 2

Soil in Tokaj

Answer 2

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 - lighter delicate wines

Soft volcanic bedrock means vines can root deeply
- no problem with deficiency of water and nutrients
- also ideal for digging cellars

Question 3

Fungus in Tokaj’s cellars

Answer 3

Zasmidium cellare

Believed to regulate humidity

Question 4

Vineyard management in Tokaj

Answer 4

Traditional:
- single post with high density

Now grown on trellis (replacement cane or cordon with VSP) at lower densities

Mechanization allowed but hand-harvesting is required for Aszu

Hazards
- powdery mildew, grey rot
- Managing canopy is important
- wild boars and birds

Question 5

Average yields in Tokaj

Answer 5

Aszu - 2-3 hl/ha

Dry - 30-40 hl/ha

Question 6

Grape varieties in Tokaj

Answer 6

6 permitted for Tokaji PDO

Furmint

Harslevelu

Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains)

Question 7

Furmint

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Harslevelu

Answer 8

Fruitier than Furmint

White peach, orange blossom

Mainly supporting role in blends adding perfume

Question 9

Sarga Muskotaly

Answer 9

Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains

adds floral notes in blends

also appears as varietal wine

Question 10

Winemaking of Aszu

Answer 10

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 may stops naturally at higher sugar levels.

Question 11

Aszu expression

Answer 11

Deep amber

high acidity

low to med alcohol

Intense aroma of orange peel, apricots, honey

Question 12

Ageing requirements for Aszu

Answer 12

min 18 months in oak

Hungarian usually used (often from Zemplen mountains above region)

traditional 136L Gonci barrels, now switching to 300-500L

mix of new and old oak

Question 13

Classification of Aszu until 2013

Answer 13

Puttonyos scale - number of buckets of aszu berries added to gonci barrel.

Question 14

Minimum level of sugar for Aszu

Answer 14

120g/l RS (equivalent of 5 puttonyos)

Question 15

Tokaj Eszencia

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Late harvest in Tokaj

Answer 16

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 ~1 year after harvest

Question 17

Szamorodni

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Dry wines in Tokaj

Answer 18

Historically a by-product (grapes that weren’t impacted by botrytis)

Tripled in the last 5 years

New vineyards on higher and windier sites above fog zone, use of canopy management to limit botrytis

Under PDO dry wines must contain at least 85% of the variety on label

Originally these were made from very ripe grapes and were oak-aged. Producers now moving toward a lighter, fresher style.

Question 19

Wine Law in Tokaj

Answer 19

PDO wines must be bottled in the region

Aszu
Eszencia
Late Harvest
Szamorodni
Dry styles
PGI Zempleni - for international varieties and wines with higher yields than allowed for PDO

Question 20

Wine Business in Tokaj

Answer 20

Area planted is rising as new, higher vineyards are planted for dry wines

average holding size is between 1 and 2ha

Many growers have contracts with larger producers to provide aszu berries.

Grand Tokaj sources from over 2000 growers and produces around 35% of whole region

Aszu accounts for 10%
Dry wines 21%
A lot of inexpensive semi-dry wine for the domestic market and Eastern Europe

Export 40% - mainly to Eastern Europe Also China, USA