Tokaj Flashcards
What are the 2 main rivers with many tributaries in Tokaj?
- River Bodrog
- River Tisza
What are the 3 principal varieties of Tokaj, which are often blended?
- Furmint
- Hárslevelú
- Sárga Muskotály
What effect does part-filling casks have on the sweet style of Szamorodni?
It will not develop flor, but may have an oxidative character
What are the 5 steps of Tokaji Aszú production?
1) Base wine made from healthy grapes
2) Aszú berries are macerated in the base wine before, during or after maceration
3) Maceration lasts for 12-60 hours
4) The mixture is pressed
5) The wine is matured in oak
What is the modern trend for sweet Szamorodni production?
To completely fill casks, avoiding too much oxidation
Which aromatic Tokaj variety of the Hungarian version of Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains?
Sárga Muskotaly
Which Tokaj style:
- Young, simple, unoaked
- Mature and concentrated
- Often fermented and matured in new oak
Dry, without botrytis
How would Tokaji be labelled if the grapes had spent extended time on the vine? (Modern style)
Late harvest
What is the unit used to express the level of sweetness of Tokaji?
The puttony (basket)
What is the significance of the number of puttonyos?
It is the number of baskets of aszú grapes used to make a given wine
What is Tokaj’s climate?
Moderate continental
Where are Tokaj’s best vineyard sites?
Hillside slopes with southerly aspects
What, for Szamorodni, are:
1) Minimum ageing requirements
2) Release age
1) 1 year
2) 2 years
What size bottle in Tokaj for:
1) Dry wines
2) Sweet wines
1) 75cl bottles
2) 50cl bottles
Under traditional law, how much residual sugar is required for Tokaji Aszú Eszencia?
Minimum 180g/l
How many puttonyos are on the traditional scale?
3-6 puttonyos
For how long can Tokaji Eszencia nature and retain its freshness?
100 years or more
What determines the final sweetness of Tokaji Aszú?
The amount of aszú berries used in maceration
What do Tokaj’s rivers generate?
Early morning humidity and fog
Why are Tokaj’s dry wines increasingly important?
They allow producers to still produce wine in years with scarce noble rot
When were proposed new regulations introduced in Tokaj, to which some producers have been working?
2013 vintage
Why is Tokaji harvesting so labour-intensive?
The pickers must pass through the vineyard several times, either to wait for better noble rot development, or to select grapes at different stages of ripeness or rot development.
From what is Tokaji Eszencia made?
The free-run juice of aszú berries
What do traditional Tokaji laws dictate for:
1) Minimum ageing requirements
2) When a vintage can be released
1) 24 months in oak
2) From the January in the 4th year after the harvest
In the modern style of late harvest Tokaji, how are botrytised grapes integrated with the wine?
They are fermented, not macerated
Which Tokaj wine:
- Deep amber
- High acidity
- Orange peel, apricots and honey
Classic Tokaji Aszú
Why does dry Tokaji Szamorodni have a similar characteristic to Fino Sherry?
The casks are part-filled, allowing flor-like yeast to develop
What is the principal variety for sweet aszú wines?
Furmint
What does ‘Szamorodni’ mean?
‘As it comes’
What does ‘aszú’ translate as?
Rotten
What do the 2013 laws dictate for:
1) Minimum ageing requirements
2) When the vintage can be released
1) 18 months in oak
2) From the January in the 3rd year after the harvest
How much residual sugar is in 5 puttonyos?
120g/l
Why does it take Eszencia years to ferment?
What is its usual ABV even after years of fermentation?
Because the must is so sweet and the yeast struggles to ferment
5% ABV or less
Tokaj is located in the foothills of which mountains?
The Carpathian Mountains
Which country does Tokaj border?
Slovakia
Which Tokaj variety?
- Concentrated
- High acidity
- Young: apples
- Mature: nuts and honey
- Dry or sweet wines
- Late ripening
Furmint
What are the 3 categories of grape during a Tokaji harvest?
1) Aszú: the rotten grapes in which noble rot is well developed
2) Bunches unaffected by noble rot
3) Szamorodni: partially affected bunches
Which Tokaji labelling term was abolished in 2013?
Aszú Eszencia
- What is the minimum level of residual sugar for Eszencia?
- What are its acidity levels?
- 450g/l
- Very high
Why are aszú berries no longer crushed into a paste for maceration?
It extracts bitter flavours
Szamorodni wines will always show characteristics of ___________ due to the nature of the harvest.
Botrytis
What is the translation of:
1) Száraz
2) Édes
Which wine style do the terms relate to?
1) Dry
2) Sweet
- Szamorodni
Which Tokaj variety:
- Late ripening
- Perfumed
Hárslevelú
A number of different styles of Tokaji may be made each vintage. What determines them?
The degree of noble rot development
Under 2013 laws, what must Tokaji aszú with residual sugar under 120g/l be labelled as?
(2 options)
1) Late Harvest
Or
2) Tokaji Szamorodni
What is the minimum residual sugar for Tokaji under:
1) Traditional laws
2) 2013 laws
1) 60g/l
2) 120g/l
