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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2009 and 2011 (based on 38 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 87.8 pts. and median of 88 pts. in 15 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by mr21cbs on 1/4/2013 & rated 89 points: Deep straw color. A bit of petrol on the nose, citrus, some wild flowers. Smooth and moderately acid wine, a bit hot on the finish. Enjoyable with spicy sushi. (2529 views) | | | Tasted by BeaverBob on 5/2/2012 & rated 88 points: fresh, dry, grapefruity, (3177 views) | | | Tasted by ecola on 5/2/2012 & rated 89 points: Aromas and flavors of light tropical fruits. Has good weight without being heavy. Dry finish. Would be an interesting food wine. (3205 views) | | | Tasted by pcarmich on 2/27/2011 & rated 90 points: Initial petrol notes on the nose blew over quickly to reveal golden apples. The palate is as good as it was previously with golden apples, layered with petrol notes and a refreshing lemon acid on the finish. This is still going strong, and I'm bit sorry this is my last bottle. These wines could age for a long time! (3833 views) | | | Tasted by The Drunken Cyclist on 9/27/2010 & rated 88 points: Consistent notes. (3984 views) | | | Tasted by mobowines on 9/24/2010 & rated 88 points: colour: clear medium yellow
scent: grass, herbs--sage?, fresh dirt.
Very dry
flavours: minerals, grapefruit/citrus. Tangy, earthy flavour.
acidity: slight.
Tangy, relatively light flavour when chilled, gains more depth when it gets closer to room temperature. Very dry. Almost too dry for me, but overall a nice, refreshing flavour. Better with food. (2668 views) | | | Tasted by The Drunken Cyclist on 7/3/2010 & rated 87 points: Very crisp. Could be mistaken for an unoaked chardonnay. A very interesting nose, with some floral notes and a hint of honey. On the palate vibrant acidity and a surprisingly long finish. Very Good. (2196 views) | | | Tasted by amateurwino on 10/21/2009: Porty with herbal, bitter edge. So new to me, this is hard to rate. (2469 views) | | | Tasted by Double-A on 8/4/2009 & rated 85 points: Yellow gold colour. Nutty, leesy, creamy Mac apple nose. Med-full and flavourful with spicy, lactic flavours; fresh finish.
3/5 (128 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 7/31/2009 & rated 89 points: SWE: Slite candy, curd--CB char.,grt dry a’s! (859 views) | | | Tasted by Edv on 7/3/2009 & rated 87 points: Citron confit, herbes et notes de buis. Sans être un vin immense, c'est un vin de plaisir qui accompagne bien l'été, ou les crevettes au curry! (2396 views) | | | Tasted by pcarmich on 5/3/2009 & rated 90 points: The nose is full of pineapple and pears. The palate echoes the nose and then transition to peaches and apples that gets complimented by a refreshing acidity on the backend and quite a bit of residual sugar. Very pleased once again by the Furmint grape. (2376 views) | | | Tasted by wino_tim on 5/6/2008 & rated 86 points: Appealing for its polished pear and doughy flavors. (2584 views) |
| Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Producer website
U.S. Importer (source of add'l info)
The Royal Tokaji Wine Company, founded in Hungary in 1989, has become one of the most defining wineries in Tokaj. From the outset, Royal Tokaji decided to concentrate on producing single-vineyard wines, made from the first growth vineyards of Mezes Maly, Nyulaszo, Szent Tamas and Betsek.
Acknowledged as one of the region’s top winemakers, Karoly Ats, combines traditional techniques with modern technology to create the award-winning Royal Tokaji range of wines. Royal Tokaji is the acknowledged leader of the renaissance of this legendary Hungarian wine, which, in the words of the wine author and company co-founder Hugh Johnson, is “a wine that would make angels sing out loud in praise”.
This perfectly balanced 5 puttonyos wine is the bechmark for Tokaji. As in all aszu wines, the three grape varieties are Furmint, Harslevelu and Muscat de Lunel. The characteristics are a vivid gold color with honeyed apricot and orange peel flavors which are uplifted with dramatic acidity.
Furmint About Furmint
Furmint is a white Hungarian wine grape variety that is most noted widely grown in the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region where it is used to produce single-varietal dry wines as well as being the principal grape in the better known Tokaji dessert wines. It is also grown in the tiny Hungarian wine region of Somló. Furmint plays a similar role in the Slovakian wine region of Tokaj. It is also grown in Austria where it is known as Mosler. Smaller plantings are found in Slovenia where it is known as Šipon. The grape is also planted in Croatia where it is known as Moslavac. It is also found in Romania and in former republics of the Soviet Union.[1] Furmint is a late ripening variety. For dry wines the harvest starts usually in September, however sweet wine specific harvest can start in the second half of October or even later, and is often inflicted with Botrytis.[2]
The name Furmint may have been taken from the word "froment" for the wheat-gold color of the wine it produces. While it is possible that the grape was brought to Hungary in the 13th century during the reign of King Béla IV,[3][4] ampelographers believe that the grape is likely native to the region.[5]
Dryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetness_of_wineHungaryHungaryTokaji On weinlagen-infoTokajiThe Tokaj lies 240 kms north-east of Budapest, Hungary, situated in the Zemplen Mountains at the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers. Currently the border between Hungary and Slovakia runs through the region, so there are Slovakian wines labeled 'Tokai'. The soil is largely clay or loess with a volcanic substratum. Tokaj enjoys long sunny summers, while dry autumns and the early morning mists, created by the meeting of the two rivers, encourage the development of noble rot on aszu berries.
The noble rot, known as Botrytis cinerea, makes the berries dry and shrivel, thus concentrating the flavor compounds and developing the Aszu berries. All of these characteristic elements give the Tokaj wineries their own distinctive and unique terroir
* Aszú: This is the formerly world-famous white wine that is proudly cited in the Hungarian national anthem. It is a naturally sweet and topaz-colored that was formerly known throughout the English-speaking world as Tokay (Tow-KAY, rhimes with WAY), which of course is an orthographic variant of the spelling 'Tokaj'('tow-KIE, rhymes with PIE).
The original meaning of the Hungarian word aszú was "dried", but the term came to be associated with the type of wine made with botrytised (i.e. "nobly rotten') grapes, so now it is thought of as meaning 'infected', or similar to the German word "Auslese", meaning 'a selection'. The process of making Aszú wine is as follows.
o Aszú berries are individually picked, then collected in huge vats and crushed into the consistency of paste (known as aszú dough).
o Through-fermented wine or unmanipulated must is poured on the aszú dough and left for 24–48 hours, being stirred occasionally.
o The wine is racked off into wooden casks or vats where fermentation is completed and the aszú wine is to mature. The casks are stored in a cool environment, and are not tightly closed, so a slow fermentation process continues in the cask, usually for several years.
The concentration of Aszú was traditionally defined by the number of puttonyos hods (containing about 30 liters) of dough added to a Gönc cask (136 liter barrel) of must. Nowadays the puttony number is based on the equivalent content of sugar and sugar-free extract in the mature wine. Aszú ranges from 3 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos, with a further category called Aszú Eszencia or Essencia (not to be confused with Tokaji Eszencia or Essencia without the Aszú) representing wines above 6 puttonyos. Unlike most other wines, potential alcohol content of Aszú typically runs quite a bit higher than 14% even though it is not fortified with alcohol or extra sugar. The sugar equivalent remaining in the wine will of course reduce the labeled alcohol content, usually something in between the ripest late-harvest dessert wines of Austria and Germany and that of dry white wines. Annual production of aszú is less than one percent of the region's total output. Tokaji Eszencia or Essencia is a different, richer product made from the pressure of Aszú grapes as they sit in containers after being collected. In this situation very concentrated juice, derived from the ripest layer of the grape fllesh immediately under the skins, collects without being pressed in the bottom of the container. This most concentrated must, often containing well over 50 percent sugars, is collected and allowed to spontaneously ferment, although it does so so reluctantly that it often contains less than the 5 percent minimum alcohol needed to call it wine. It is sold in tiny amounts, usually with a small spoon which allows sipping it in the tiny amounts that render its immense flavors and scents it possesses. This enormously expensive elixir was thought to possess very strong medicinal properties, and was thought to be kept in royal courts to allow revival of a dying monarch who had neglected to name a successor.
Because this dessert-style wine is not popular or easy to sell, is expensive to make, and whose high quality is not understood, it is not easy for producers in the region to remain in business, much less make a profit so that their vineyards and equipment can be kept in good condition. Since that is the case, dry (non-dessert)-style wines are now being made, and also wines that are made more like the simpler late-harvest wines from other areas of Europe. Such experiments are ongoing and their successfulness is unknown as of this point.
The wines of Tokaj are made from severa whitel grapes, individual or as a blend, that are indigenous to Hungary, and rarely or ever found outside this region, plus small amounts of 'tolerated' varieties. These grapes are the Furmint, the Harsevelu (Linden-leaf), and the more widely employed Muscat. edited jht
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