Ch. 13 – Tokaj

Question 1

Tokaj history

Answer 1

Aszu first mentioned in 1571

18th century - one of first controlled appellations

Offered sweetness before crystal sugar became available - drunk by royals

1945 - communism changed towards quantity production

Foreign investments in 1990s (AXA, Vega Sicilia, Hugh Johnson)

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Zemplen Mountains

Moderate continental climate

Sheltered from cold norherly winds by forested mountains.

Mainly slopes to reduce freeze and frost

Important southern exposure for sun reception

500-600mm rain - half during growing season - irrigation is not permitted

Warm and dry Autumns

Rivers Tisza and Bodrog - morning fog and warm sunny afternoons.

Question 3

Soil

Answer 3

Hundreds of extinct volcanoes

Deep volcanic bedrock with complex variety of soils

Nyirok - volcanic soil which is said to produce the most powerful wines

Loess - sandy silt with high clay content - ligher delicate wines

Soft soil - vine can root deeply, no problem with deficiency of water and nutrients

Question 4

Fungus in Tokaj’s cellars

Answer 4

Zasmidium callare

Believed to regulate humidity

Question 5

Vineyard management

Answer 5

Traditionally - single post with high density

Now grown on trellis (replacement cane or cordon with VSP) and lower densitions 4000-5000 per ha

Mechanization allowed but required for Aszu

Hazards - powdery mildew, grey rot - Managing canopy
- wild boars and birds

Question 6

Average yields

Answer 6

Aszu - 2-3 hl/ha

Dry - 30-40 hl/ha

Question 7

Grape varieties

Answer 7

6 permitted for Tokaji PDO

Furmint

Harslevelu

Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains)

Question 8

Furmint

Answer 8

69%

versatile and capable of producing high quality wines from dry to sweet styles.

Late-ripening (needs long season)

Retains high acidity

thick-skinned but particularly susceptible to botrytis

naturally accumulates high levels of sugar

Dry wines can be also ageworthy (often aged in oak)
Due to high sugar they can be full bodied with high alcohol

Lemon apple pear. Can develop honey, nuts with age
Sweet styles: dried apricot, mango

Question 9

Harslevelu

Answer 9

18%

Fruitier than Furmint

White peach, orange blossom

Mainly supporting role in blends adding perfume

Question 10

Sarga Muskotaly

Answer 10

Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains

9%

adds floral otes in blends

also appears as varietal wine

Question 11

Grapes affected by Botrytis

Answer 11

Aszu

Question 12

Winemaking of Aszu

Answer 12

Too concentrated to be pressed - therefore macerated in must, fementing must or base wine to draw out sugars and flavour (aszu can be mashed into paste)

Usually 12-60 hours (12-20degrees)

If uncrushed grapes are used - punched down regularly

Maceration in must - lightest styles
Maceration in wine - med.
Maceration in fermenting must - strongest expression but also can extract bitterness.

After maceration grapes are pressed and must is fermented (usually cultured yeast for reliability) in steel or barrels

Many producers stop ferment by chilling, racking or adding SO2. Otherwise it stops naturally around 180g/L RS

Question 13

Aszu expression

Answer 13

Deep amber

high acidity

low to med alcohol

Intense aroma of orange peel, apricots, honòey

Question 14

Picking for Aszu

Answer 14

several passes - collecting individual berries

Question 15

Ageing requirements for Aszu

Answer 15

min 18 months in oak

Hungarian usually used (often from Zemplen mountains above region)

traditional 136L Gonci barrels, now switching to 300-500L

Question 16

Bottling requirement for Aszu

Answer 16

500ml clear glass traditional bottle

Question 17

Gonci

Answer 17

Traditional 136L barrel

Question 18

Classification until 2013

Answer 18

Puttonyos scale - number of buckets of asxu added to gonci barrel.

Question 19

Minimum level of sugar for aszu

Answer 19

120g/l RS (equivalent of 5 puttonyos

can be labelled 3 or 4 puttonyos

Question 20

When can wine be labelled 5 or 6 putonnyos

Answer 20

above 150g/l RS

labelling is not mandatory

Question 21

Eszencia

Answer 21

Extremely rare and expensive

From tiny volume of free-run juice that trickles from Aszu berries

It can take years to ferment (still reaches very low alcohol - usually less than 5%)

Min sugar 450g/l

full bodied, pronounced, concentrated flavours, high acidity.

Retain freshness and age for decades

Question 22

Late harvest

Answer 22

Maceration process is not used

Recent style

Lower proportion of botrytized grapes than Aszu

Ligher bodied and less concentrated.

Min. RS 45g/l

Oak ageing is not compulsory

Ready for release much earlier, typically 12-16 months after harvest

Question 23

Szamorodni

Answer 23

Polish word for ‘as it comes’

Made from whole bunches with varying amounts of botrytised and healthy grapes.

2 styles

• Edes - sweet
• Szaraz - dry

Min RS for Edes 45g/l
Must be aged in oak for 6 months
Bottled in 500ml Tokaji bottle
Fresher style than Aszu

Dry style is aged under thin film of flor for up to 10 years without topping up. The wine is protected from excessive oxidation and develops nutty and green apple aroma

Question 24

Dry wines

Answer 24

Historically by-product

Triped in the last 5 years

New vineyards on higher and windier sites above fog zone, use of canopy management

Under PDO dry wines must contain at least 85% of the variety on label

Single vineyard wines - Dulo

Question 25

Wine Law

Answer 25

PDO wines must be bottled in the region

Aszu
Eszencia
Late Harvest
Szamorodni
Dry styles
PGI Zempleni - for international varieties and wines with higher yieds than allowed for PDO

Question 26

Wine Business

Answer 26

average holding size is between 1 and 2ha

Many growers have contracts with larger producers to provide aszu berries.

Gran Tokaj sources from over 2000 growers and produces around 35% of whole region

Aszu accounts for 10% (vintage variations)
Dry wines 21%
The rest is inexpensive semi-dry wine for home market.

Export 40% - Eastern Europe, China, France, UK, USA

Question 27

Which river flood frequently?

Creating perfect conditions for noble rot

Answer 27

Bodrog