Ch 13 Tokaj Flashcards

Question

Describe the winemaking of Tokaji Aszú

Answer 1

Grapes picked via several passes thru vineyard then stored until req’d Shriveled grapes have concentrated sugary juice that cannot be effectively extracted w/ normal pressing Prior to maceration, most producers mash the Aszú grapes into a paste, by crushing or breaking open the grape in some way (usually passing them thru a pump) A # of producers prefer to use uncrushed grapes to avoid bitterness from skins and seeds Paste or grapes are usually macerated 12-60 hrs, Temps around 12-15C/ 54-59F, which may rise to 16-20C/ 61-68F if strong ferment Grapes macerated in must, fermenting must, or base wine to draw out their sugars and flavors, depending on desired style If uncrushed, these are punched down regularly When maceration takes place in must or fermenting must, the juice is drained and Aszú paste or berries are pressed Must is then fermented (or continues to ferment) to gain desired balance of sugar & alcohol Some producers use ambient yeast for fermentation, but many prefer cultured yeast for reliability (high sugar can be difficult) Both SS and barrels are used for ferment Depending on desired style, some target higher level of abv (12-13.5%) to produce a less sweet style; ferment may stop naturally, especially at higher sugar levels (>180 g/L); many stop ferment (by chilling or racking or adding SO2) to avoid re-ferment and control house style Must be stored min 18mo in oak; some prefer longer; Hungarian oak widely used for ferment & aging Traditionally matured in 136L barrels (known as gönci), but most now using to larger (300-500L); mixture of new and older oak Must be bottled in traditional clear glass 500mL Tokaji bottle

Answer 2

Grapes macerated in must, fermenting must, or base wine to draw out their sugars and flavors, depending on desired style In must = lightest styles In young finished wine = next lightest In fermenting wine = strongest extraction and most complex wines, but unless berries are both ripe and clean, can extract unpleasant bitter, unripe characteristics

Answer 3

Timing of maceration also affects final wine style Strongest extraction occurs when must is fermenting most actively early on, while some producers prefer later stages for lighter extraction

Answer 4

Where base wine is used for maceration, it must have min potential abv of 12.08%, though in practice the base wine is often 14.5-15.5% abv (which is lowered by the addition of the Aszú berries/ paste)

Answer 5

winemakers are free to choose which grape varieties they use (Furmint and Hárslevelü are the most common) They can also decide how botrytized the grapes that make the base wine are Some producers prefer rich and botrytized base wine to give extra complexity and creaminess Others prefer minimal botrytis to allow the character of the Aszú grapes to show through

Answer 6

A traditional, small 136L barrel used for maturing Tokaji Aszú

Answer 7

A traditional scale to classify of level of sweetness of Aszú wines Used until 2013 This measured the # of pickers’ buckets or hods (puttony) of Aszú berries added to a traditional gönci barrel of must However, more recently it had been measured by set min RS levels, w/ “three puttonyos” having the least RS and “six puttonyos” denoting the most In 2013, Tokaj regulations changed significantly Min RS was increased to 120 g/L, the equivalent of five puttonyos Wines w/ lower levels of sugar are now labeled as Late Harvest or Tokaji Édes Szamorodni depending on how they are made Aszú wines can be labeled as “five puttonyos” or “six puttonyos” (above 150 g/L RS) but this is not mandatory Can be labeled as three or four puttonyos as long as they have min 120 g/L RS

Answer 8

Extremely rare, extremely expensive Made from the tiny volume of syrupy free-run juice that trickles from Aszú berries Juice is so sweet that it can take years to ferment Even then it only reaches very low alcohol levels (usually <5%) Legal min RS is 450 g/L Wines are full bodied (often consistency of syrup) Pronounced, highly concentrated flavors High acidity Can retain freshness and age a long time

Answer 9

Created as a reaction to the amount of time and investment needed to produce and mature Aszú wines Produced in similar way to sweet wines found in other regions (the maceration process is not used) Typically produced w/ a lower proportion of botrytized grapes than for Aszú wines Tend to be lighter body and less concentrated than Aszú wines Legal min RS is only 45 g/L; most are between 90-110 g/L Oak aging not compulsory; many spend little or no time in oak Ready for release much earlier, typically between 12-16 mo post-harvest

Answer 10

Polish word for “as it comes” Indicates a traditional style made from whole bunches w/ varying amounts of healthy and botrytized grapes Produced either sweet (édes) or dry (száraz) depending on ripeness and botrytis (sweeter style more common) Sweeter style Min RS 45 g/L; most are 90-110 g/L Since 2016, only need 6mo oak (much less than Aszú) Bottled in same traditional clear 500 mL Tokaji bottle as Aszú Best are similar to Aszú but fresher style Dry Aged under a thin film of flor yeast (much thinner than in Sherry production) Aged up to 10 yr w/o topping up Wine is protected from excessive oxidation and develop nutty and green apple aromas

Answer 11

Historically, dry wines were essentially a by-product wine, produced when botrytis did not develop However, as in many regions whose reputation was built on sweet wines, there has been a significant move towards dry wines in the 21st century Some high quality examples are now being produced Production has tripled in the last 5 years

Answer 12

Good dry wines need healthy grapes w/ no botrytis so producers are planting new vineyards on higher and windier sites above the fog zone and Using more open canopies and Appropriate vine treatments to prevent rot

Answer 13

At first, wines were made from very ripe grapes, underwent full MLF/C and lengthy new oak barrel aging That has been reined in Now using less ripe berries, fermenting in SS, generally taking a less interventionist approach to produce lighter-bodied wines which better show varietal character Increasingly looking to express terroir and a # of single vineyard (Dülö) are now produced

Answer 14

Most often made from Furmint Hárslevelü and Muscat are also used and blends are also made Under PDO, wines labeled as a single varietal must contain at least 85% of specified grape

Answer 15

2004 Adopted PDO/PGI system at that time

Answer 16

From 2013, PDO wines must be bottled in the region on the label Tokaji PDO is broken down into more specific categories of village and estate wines, and certain designated vineyards can be named on the label The various styles of Tokaji PDO (e.g. Aszú and Szamorodni) are defined by law There is a PGI (Zempléni) used for wines made from other grapes, particularly int’l varieties, and for inexpensive wines produced at yields higher than those permitted for PDO

Answer 17

Currently 5747 ha under vine in the Tokaji PDO (although increasing, only 1/2 of potential area has been planted) Avg holding size is small - 1-2 ha; many growers have contracts w/ larger producers to provide grapes, especially Aszú berries Ex: state-owned Grand Tokaj sources from 2k growers & produces around 35% of region’s wines Aszú accounts for around 10% of production; dry wines 21%; of the rest, a significant portion is inexpensive, non-botrytized wine (often made semi-sweet by stopping ferment early) destined for home market and other E Euro countries

Answer 18

Only a relatively small amount of Tokaji are exported outside E Euro countries Exports ~40% China, FR, UK and USA are largest export markets