Chap 24: Tokaj Flashcards by Kathleen Hamrick

Where is the region of Tokaj?

In the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the far north east of Hungary and close to the Slovakian border

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Describe the climate of Tokaj
(Cool, Mod, Warm)

Moderate climate

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Where are the best vineyards of Tokaj located?

On hillside slopes with southerly aspects

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How are the conditions created for noble rot to develop in Tokaj?

By the Bodrog and Tisza rivers and their many tributaries help generate the necessary early morning humidity for the development of noble rot.

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What are the three principal grape varieties used for the creation of Tokaji?

Furmint

Hárslevelű

Sárga Muskotály

Often blended for the making of Tokaj

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What is the most widely planted variety used in the making of Tokaji?

Furmint

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Describe Hungarian wines made from Furmint
* Acid
* Flavors when young
* Flavors when aged

Concentrated, high acid wines with flavours of apples when young & nuts and honey when aged

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What is the principal grape variety used for Aszú wines?

Furmint

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Why is Furmint better known for Aszú wines than dry wines?

Due to its late-ripening and susceptibility to botrytis

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What does Hárslevelű contribute to a blend?
Is it early or late-ripening?

Contributes perfume to a blend
Late-ripening

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By what more common name is Sárga Muskotály known?

Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains

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What is Sárga Muskotály used for in blends?

Its aromatic qualities

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What styles are Tokaji made into?

Sweet wines & dry wines

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What is unique about the packaging of sweet Tokaji wines? What is the difference between the packaging for sweet vs. dry Tokaji wines?

Sweet wines are sold in 50cl bottles & dry wines are in 75cl bottles

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Describe a producer’s output during an average vintage in Tokaj

Depending on the degree of noble rot development, a producer will often make a number of different styles

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How do producers allow for different styles in Tokaj?

They may separate the grapes into three different categories during the harvest

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What is the Hungarian name for rotten grapes?

Aszú

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How will appropriate grapes be separated during harvest in Hungary?

Pickers will pass through the vineyards several times, selecting individual aszú grapes

The remainder will be picked separately

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What does Szamorodni mean?

‘As it comes’

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What is Szamorodni?

It involves picking bunches partially affected by noble rot

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What is the role of dry Tokaji wines unaffected by botrytis?

Gaining in importance

Allows producers to make wine in years where there is less noble rot

Describe the range of styles of dry Tokaji

Vary in style from simple, unoaked, early-drinking wines to more concentrated, age-worthy blends, which are often fermented and matured in new oak

What are dry Tokaji wines usually made from?

Furmint

What is Tokaj Szamorodni?

Thew wines are made from the grapes harvested as Szamorodni and may be dry or sweet, depending on the amount of noble rot present.

Even the dry wines will show noble rot charector.

What are the Hungarian terms for dry and sweet?

Dry: Száraz Sweet: Édes

Describe the ageing requirements for Szamorodni wines?

They must be aged in cask for a minimum of 6 months and only released from the winery from the Jan in the second year after harvest. Most are aged even longer.

Why are casks for dry styles of Tokaj Szamorodni not completely filled?

Casks are not completely filled to allow for flor-like yeast to form naturally on the wine

Which wine has a similar character to Szamorodni?

Fino Sherry

What is the result of flor not being used for sweet Tokaji Szamorodni?

They may have an oxidative character

What is the **new trend** for maturing sweet Tokaji Szamorodni?

To fill the casks completely for sweet wines, avoiding the risk of oxidative character developing

Describe the process of making Aszú wines

* Starts with a base wine of healthy grapes. * Before, during or after fermentation, Aszú berries are macerated in the base wine * Mixture is pressed and matured in oak

How long is Aszú wine macerated for?

12 - 60 hours

How were Aszú berries traditionally treated before maceration for Tokaji? What is different now and why?

They were crushed into a paste, but are now using them uncrushed to avoid the extraction of bitter flavors.

How is wine sweetness determined for Tokaji?

By the amount of Aszú berries used

What is the Hungarian unit of sweetness?

The puttonyos

Describe classic Aszú Tokaji * Color * Acidity * Aromas * Flavors

* Deep amber * High acidity * Intense aromas * Flavours of orange peel, apricots and honey

Describe the development of Tokaji concentration based on sweetness level.

The wines become more concentrated and intense as they rise up the sweetness scale

What are Tokaji Eszencia wines? Where are they commercially available?

Extremely rare sweet wines from Tokaj which are rarely available outside the region of production

How are Tokaji Eszencia wines made?

* Using just the free-run juice of the aszú berries * The must is so sweet, the wines can take years to ferment --> even after that time, the wines remain very low in alc (usually less than 5% abv)

What is the legal minimum of risidual sugar for Tokaji Eszencia?

450 g/L

Describe Tokaji Eszencia: * Acidity * Flavors * Ageing potential

They are balanced by very high acidity and have an enormously concentrated flavour Can mature and retain freshness for a century or more

How are Tokaj's modern sweet wines made? How are the labelled?

From grapes that spend an extended time on the vine and labelled as 'Late Harvest'. Some use botrytis infected fruit.

How is vinification of Tokaj's modern sweet wines different to that of Aszú wines?

When botrytis is present, the botrytised grapes are fermented (process used for Sauternes or TBA), rather than using the maceration process of Aszú wines

Other than the fermentation process, how else are Tokaj's modern sweet wines made differently to Aszú wines?

They may be matured for less time than Aszú wines

Since when have producers of Tokaj been working with new regulations with regard to wine making and labelling?

2013

What different styles of Tokaj PDO are defined by law?

Aszú and Eszencia

What was puttony traditionally vs. how is it defined now?

Traditionally: A picker's bucket, and this measure described the number of bucket of aszu grapes that went into a barrel of wine. Now, the number of puttonyos stated on the wine label equates to a min. residual sugar concentration.

What is the minimum risidual sugar that a Tokaj Aszu can have? What # puttonyos does it equate to?

Minimum of 120g/L residual sugar = five puttonyos

How much residual sugar does six puttonyos equate to?

a wine with a minimum of 150g/L residual sugar

What are the minimum ageing restrictions for Tokaji Aszú?

18 months in oak vessels which can be new or old Wine could only be released from January in the fourth year after harvest

Prior to the 2013 vintage, wines with lower levels of residual sugar could be labelled what?

3 or 4 puttonyos

Producers can still label their wines as 3 or 4 puttonyos, but what is new level of required minimum sugar for these wines?

120g/L residual sugar