Last week I had the pleasure of attending a small tasting at the Embassy of Hungary, featuring the wines of Tokaj. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had only ever had one Tokaji wine, an aszú, which was very sweet and quite delicious. I knew they made dry whites but had no idea what those tasted like. Well, the wines were fantastic all the way around – dry whites, late harvest, and aszú. The recurring theme with all of the wines was acidity, but not a piercing, aggressive acidity. It was always perfect, balanced and integrated, adding a fresh, mouthwatering angle to each wine. The dry whites also had great texture and richness, and a streak of minerality, all of which paired nicely with the fresh acidity (these are the kind of whites I adore.) There were a few late harvest/semi-sweet wines that were, again, very fresh and not cloying from too much residual sugar. The aszú wines were all quite different and, though not as explosive in flavor as I remembered, were quite good. Now, a little background on my new favorite region and its wines.

Tokaj (the full name is Tokaj-Hegyalja) is a region in northeastern Hungary, along the border with Slovaki. It is most famous for its sweet, botrytized, wines, called Tokaji-Aszú. The first botrytized wines in the world were made in Tokaj, much earlier than the famous Sauternes of Bordeaux. Tokaj was also the first region to have its vineyards classified for quality, at least semi-officially, in 1772.

The climate features dry, hot summers and cold winters. Long autumns with misty mornings and dry afternoons contribute to the growth of beneficial noble rot (botrytis cinerea). The botrytis shrivels the grapes, concentrating the existing flavors and adding its own. In Hungary, botrytis is known as aszú.

There are three main grape varieties in Tokaj: Furmint, Hárslevelû, and Sárga Muskotály. Two others, Zéta and Kövérszõlõ, are also seen to some extent.

These 5 grapes contribute to the three main styles of wines from Tokaj (there are others, but they are seldom encountered), which are described in more detail below.

Dry whites made from Furmint, Hárslevelû, and Sárga Muskotály. These range from light to full-bodied, with varying levels of acidity, and can be oaked or unoaked.

Late-harvest wines made from various grapes. They come in various sweetness levels, with or without botrytis. They are also minimally barrel aged in order to accentuate the fruit.

Aszú wines, which are made by first individually picking botrytis infected grapes and crushing them into a paste. The paste is then added to a newly made wine (or fermenting must) where it macerates for an extended period of time, extracting an array of complex flavors. Finally, the wine is aged for a minimum of three years. Aszús can be labelled 3, 4, 5, or 6 puttonyos, referring to how sweet the wine is (6 is the sweetest). There is also aszú-eszencia and Tokaji-eszencia, both being sweeter and more concentrated than a 6 puttonyos.

For more information please visit www.tokaji.hu.