Tokaj Flashcards
What was Tokaj known for historically?
- Aszú first mentioned 1571: sweet wines made from shrivelled and botrytis-affected grapes
- 18th century: One of the first controlled appellations
Why did the reputation deteriorate?
- Communist state in 1945
- Focus shift from quality to quantity
What helped to rebuild Tokaj’s reputation in the last 25 years and what it is known for today?
- 1990s: foreign investors (e.g., AXA, Vega Sicilia)
- Fresher, fruitier style of Aszú and high quality dry wines
Where is the Tokaj located?
- North-eastern corner of Hungary
- Latitude: 48°-49° N
Describe the climate
- Moderate continental
- Warm summers, cold winters
How are vineyards situated?
- Mostly on slopes to reduce risk of frost
- South-facing for max sunlight
What is the rainfall and is irrigation permitted?
- 500-600mm
- Yes
Why is the climate suitable for sweet wines?
- Two rivers (Tisza, Bodrog)
- Moist air results in Botrytis
- Warm autumn sun limits grey rot
What is the bedrock and what are the two most important soil types?
- Bedrock: volcanic
- Nyirok, a volcanic soil (powerful wines)
- Loess (lighter, delicate wines)
What are the advantages of volcanic bedrock?
- Vines can root deeply limiting water stress
- Lots of nutrients
- Ideal for digging the cellars
What is the trellising system and planting density?
- Replacement-cane pruning or cordon training with VSP
- On avg. 4,000-5,000 vines/ha
How is harvest conducted?
- By machine
- By hand (in case of steeper slopes or Aszú)
What are the main diseases and hazards?
- Powdery mildew
- Grey rot
- Wild boar and birds
What are the avg. yields for Aszú and dry wines?
- Aszú: 2-3 hL/ha
- Dry wines: 30-40 hL/ha
How many grape varieties are permitted in Tokaj PDO and what are the three most important?
- 6
- Furmint
- Hárslevelű
- Sárga Muskotály (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains)
Furmint
What are the plantings? (%)
69%
Furmint
What are the grape’s characteristics? (ripening, acidity, sweetness, quality)
- Late-ripening
- High acidity (even when fully ripe)
- Dry to sweet
- High quality
Furmint
What are typical styles of dry wine from Furmint? (ageing, oak, body, alcohol)
- Early drinking and more ageworthy examples
- The latter often in oak
- Full body and high alcohol (due to high sugar levels)
- However, also medium alcohol possible (due to new viticultural practices)
Furmint
Typical flavors (young, aged, botrytis)
- Lemon, apple and pear
- Honey and nuts
- Dried apricot and mango
Hárslevelű
What are the plantings? (%)
18%
Hárslevelű
What are the aromas?
- Fruitier than Furmint
- Distinctive white peach and orange blossom
Hárslevelű
What does it add to blends?
Distinctive perfume
Sárga Muskotály
What is the general term of this variety?
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Sárga Muskotály
What are the plantings? (%)
9%
Sárga Muskotály
What does it add to blends?
Floral notes
What are the five different styles of wines from Tokaj?
- Aszú
- Eszencia
- Late Harvest
- Szamorodni
- Dry wines
Aszú
What does Aszú stand for?
Hungarian for “grapes that have been infected with botrytis and have shrivelled on the vine”
Aszú
What is special about the juice in the grapes?
- So concentrated that it cannot be effectively extracted by normal pressing
- Hence, it is macerated in must, fermenting must or base wine to draw out sugars and flavours
Aszú
What is the style of classic Aszú? (color, acidity, alc, aromas, price)
- Deep amber
- High acidity
- Low to medium alcohol
- Intense aromas of orange peel, apricots, and honey
- Best examples with super-premium prices
Aszú
What is special about the harvest?
Grapes are picked individually in several passes
Aszú
Describe the winemaking process
- Aszú grapes are mashed into a paste or uncrushed grapes are used
- Paste or grapes are macerated 12-60 hours at 12-15°C (up to 16-20°C with strongly fermenting must)
- Juice is drained and Aszú paste of berries are pressed
- Must is then further fermented to gain desired balance of sugar and alcohol
Aszú
What are the three potential maceration methods?
- Maceration in must - lightest styles
- Maceration in young, finished wine - fuller style
- Maceration in fermenting must - strongest extraction and most complex wines, but berries need to be ripe
Aszú
What is regulated by law and where do producers have freedom?
- Law: If base wine is used, min alc of 12.08% abv
- Free: Grape varieties (Furmint and Hárslevelű most common) and how botrytised the grapes are
Aszú
Is ambient or cultured yeast used?
- Mostly cultured to ferment reliably
- Some use ambient yeast
Aszú
What vessels are used for fermentation?
- Stainless steel
- Barrels
Aszú
Why do many producers stop fermentation at a certain point?
- Avoid the risk of refermentation
- Control house styles
Aszú
Where and for how long is Aszú stored?
Min 18 months in oak
Aszú
In what type of oak is the wine matured?
- Hungarian oak is widely used (fermentation and ageing)
- Traditionally: small 136-litre barrels (known as gönci)
- Today: Mostly larger barrels (300 to 500L)
- A mixture of new and older oak
Aszú
What are the requirements regarding bottling?
Must be bottled in a traditional, clear-glass, 500 mL Tokaji bottle
Aszú
What scale was used until 2013 to classify the sweetness of the wine?
Puttonyos
Aszú
How did the puttonyos scale work?
- Traditionally: Counted the number of pickers’ buckets or hods (puttony) of Aszú berries added to a traditional gönci barrel of must
- More recently: Measured by min residual sugar levels from three to six puttonyos
Aszú
What is todays regulation for labelling the wines according to their sweetness?
- Min 120g/L (the previous minimum for five puttonyos): can be labelled ‘five puttonyos’, but not mandatory (e.g., ‘three puttonyos’ also possible as label)
- Min 150g/L: can be labelled ‘six puttonyos’
- Wines with lower levels: Late Harvest or Tokaji Édes Szamorodni (depending on how they are made)
Eszencia
What is it?
- Made from syrupy free-run juice that trickles from Aszú berries
- Extremely rare and extremely expensive
Eszencia
What is special about the fermentation?
- Can take years to ferment
- Reaches only very low levels of alcohol (usually less than 5% abv)
Eszencia
What is the typical style of this wine? (sweetness, body, intensity, acidity, ageing)
- Min 450 g/L
- Full body
- Pronounced, highly concentrated flavours
- High acidity
- Very long ageing potential
Late Harvest
What types of grapes are used?
Some proportion of botrytized grapes
Late Harvest
What is the min residual sugar level? What is the usual level?
- Min 45 g/L
- Usually 90-110 g/L
Late Harvest
What is the advantage of these wines compared to Aszú?
Late Harvest is ready for release much earlier (after 12-16 months) than Aszú
Szamorodni
What is it?
It is a traditional style made from whole bunches with varying amounts of healthy and botrytized grapes
Szamorodni
What are the two types of this wine?
- Sweet (édes)
- Dry (száraz)
Szamorodni
What are the requirements regarding residual sugar of the sweet style?
- Min 45 g/L
- Usually 90-110 g/L
Szamorodni
What are the advantages compared to Aszú and Late Harvest?
- Requires only 6 months in oak (considerably shorter than for Aszú)
- More authentic Tokaji wine than the more recent Late Harvest style
- Bottled in the same traditional, clear, 500 mL Tokaji bottle as Aszú
- Best édes wines can be of equivalent quality to Aszú, though in a fresher style
Szamorodni
How is the dry style made?
- Aged under a thin film of flor yeast for up to 10 years without topping up
- Develops nutty and green apple aromas
Dry wines
Comment on the history and current trend for dry wines from Tokaj
- History: dry wines as by-product in case botrytis did not develop
- Current trend: high-quality examples and production tripled in last 5 years
Dry wines
What are producers doing in the vineyard to produce high-quality dry wines?
- Plant new vineyards on higher and windier sites above the fog zone
- Use more open canopies and appropriate vine treatments to prevent rot
Dry wines
What varieties are used and which dominates?
- Furmint (dominates)
- Hárslevelű
- Muscat
Dry wines
What winemaking techniques are used to produce lighter-bodied wines that show varietal character?
- Less ripe berries
- Stainless steel
- Less interventionist approach
What appellation system does Tokaj follow?
- PDO/PGI system
- PDO further broken down in village and estate wines
What is PGI in Tokaj used for?
- Wines made from other grapes (in particular international varieties)
- Inexpensive wines produced at higher yields
How many hectars under vine are in the Tokaj PDO?
Roughly 5,700ha
What businesses are engaged in production?
- Mainly small growers (1-2 ha) that sell grapes to larger producers
- State-owned Grand Tokaj sources from 2,000 growers and produces 35% of the region’s wine
How much is exported and what are the main export markets?
- 40%
- China, France, UK, USA
How much wine (in hL) is produced on avg. and what percent of that is Aszú and dry wines?
- 170,000 hL
- 10% Aszú
- 21% Dry wines
What type of wine is most production?
- Inexpensive, non-botrytised wine (often semi-sweet)
- Home market and Eastern Europe
