Tokaj Flashcards
What is Aszú?
The Hungarian word for grapes that have been infected with botrytis and shrivelled on the vine.
How is Aszú wine made?
Prior to maceration, most producers mash the Aszú grapes into a paste by crushing or breaking open the grape in some way, usually by passing through a pump. Producers may choose not to do this to avoid any bitterness from the stems or seeds.
The sugary juice inside the shrivelled grapes is so concentrated that it can not be effectively extracted by normal pressing. Therefore, the grapes are macerated in must, fermenting must or base wine to draw out sugars and flavours.
The paste or grapes are macerated usually for between 12-60 hours. Where untrusted grapes are used, they will be punched down regularly.
Maceration usually takes place at around 12-15°C, but can rise to 16-20°C with a strongly fermenting must.
What are the most favourable conditions for Aszú production?
In the autumn, foggy morning allow botrytis to develop, sunny afternoons slow the spread. In hotter, drier years, yields of Aszú will be significantly reduced.
What is the typical profile of Aszú wines?
Deep Amber, high in acidity with low to medium alcohol and intense aromas of orange peel, apricots and honey.
The best can reach super premium prices.
How are Aszú grapes harvested?
Individually in several passes through the vineyard. A very time consuming and labour intensive process. They are then stored until required.
What is the resulting stylistic difference between the three methods of maceration for Aszú wines?
In must gives the lightest styles, followed by maceration in base wine.
Maceration in fermenting must gives the strongest extraction and most complex wines, but unless berries are both ripe and clean, can also extract unpleasant bitter, unripe characteristics.
The timing of maceration also influences the final style: the strongest extraction occurs when the must is fermenting most actively early on, while some producers prefer the later stages for a lighter extraction.
When macerating in base wine, what are the requirements for it?
It must by law, have a minimum potential alcohol of 12.08% abv, though in practice it is often 14.5-15.5%, lowered by the addition of Aszú berries/paste.
Otherwise, winemakers are free to choose which varieties they use (Furmint and Hárslevelű are the most common), and how btorytised the grapes that make the base wine are.
Some producers prefer a rich and botrytised base wine for complexity and creaminess. Others prefer minimal botrytis in the base wine to let the Aszú characteristics shine through.
The base wine is different to dry styles produced, for which over ripeness and botrytis is avoided.
How does fermentation take place when Aszú berries are macerated in must or fermenting must?
At some point, the juice is drained and Aszú berries/paste are pressed. The must is then fermented (or continues to ferment) to gain the desired balance between sugar and alcohol.
Some producers ferment with ambient yeasts, but many prefer cultured for their reliability, as the high sugar levels create an inhospitable environment.
Both stainless steel and barrels are used for fermentation.
What factors affect the final sweetness in Aszú wines?
Some producers will target a higher alcohol (12-13.5%) to produce a less sweet style.
Fermentation can also stop naturally, especially at higher sugar levels (180g/L and above), and these wines will be naturally stable.
Many producers stop the fermentation (by chilling/racking/adding SO2) to avoid the risk of refermentation and to control house style.
What is the requirement, and what is usual practice for Azú maturation?
Must be stored for a minimum 18m in oak, though some prefer longer.
Traditionally, wines were matured in small 136-litre barrels (gönci), however, many are now switching to larger, 300-500L barrels.
There is a mixture of new and older oak in use.
What vessel is the most common in Aszú production?
Hungarian oak, often from the Zemplén mountains above the region is widely used for fermentation and maturation.
What is bottling requirement for Aszú?
Must be in the traditional, 500ml clear glass Tokaji bottle.
How was Aszú classified pre 2013?
By its level of sweetness using the Puttonyos scale.
Traditionally, this measure counted the number of pickers’ buckets or hods (puttony) of Aszú berries added to a traditional gönci barrel or must.
More recently, but still pre 2013, it had been measured by set minimum residual sugar levels, with ‘three puttonyos’ have the least, and six the most.
How is Aszú classified post 2013?
In 2013 regulations changed significantly.
The minimum level of RS was increased to 120g/L, the equivalent to the previous five puttonyos.
Wines with lower RS are now labelled late harvest or Szamarodni, depending on production technique.
This means the producer can label Aszú wines as three, four or five puttonyos as long as it has 120g/L.
The minimum requirement for six puttonyos is 150g/L.
None of this labelling is mandatory.
What is Escenzia? What are the requirements for production and what is the typical profile?
An extremely rare and extremely expensive wine made from the tiny volume of syrupy free-run juice that trickles from Aszú berries.
The juice is so sweet that it can take years to ferment, and even then only reaches low alcohol levels (usually less than 5%).
The legal minimum requirement is 450g/L RS.
Wines are full bodied, often with the consistency of syrup, with pronounced, highly concentrated flavours.
High acidity means these wines can retain freshness and age for a very long time.
