Uri Borok Pinceszete Winery Visit

My wife and I visited Poland, Hungary and Austria in August, 2005. On our drive from Poland to Budapest, we made a small detour and visited the Tokaji region of Hungary. With the help of Tsunami, we arranged for a tour and tasting at this winery (it is not open to the public). I value Tsunami's opinion on this region very highly and he has rated this winery as the best in Tokaji.

The owner/winemaker at this estate is Vince Gergely. He is about 45 years old and had been involved in the Tokaji cooperative when the country was communist. After the fall of communism he purchased some vineyards and has been making his own wine since 1989. His first Aszu wine was made in 1991. We met him at his home at about 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon. He answered his door and we drove to his new home/winery which is under construction.

His winery is in the town of Mad. Although it is on a small lot in town, it is on the site of a former castle and he owns the original cellars which run under all of his neighbors properties. His cellars are at least 300 years old and are probably closer to 600 years old. They are impressive. They are covered in a thick layer of beneficial mold which aids in the aging of the wines. The cellars run for about 400 meters and maintain a constant temperature of 11 degrees celsius.

Although he does not speak very good English, his English is 100x better than our Hungarian and we were able to communicate. Vince spent about 3 hours with us. He was not only generous with his time but with his wine as well. His wines are not imported into the US although he is working on it. I believe that his wines are among the most expensive in the Tokaji region and worth it.

Here are my notes on his wines:

• 2000 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji Furmint 90 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This was a dry white wine made from the Furmint grape (the most popular variety in Tokaji). These wines are becoming more popular and some are showing up in the US. This was the best dry Furmint I have ever had. Full bodied and very expressive. 14% alcohol. Notes of pear and minerals. 89-90 points.

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• 2002 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji Szent Tamas Cuvée 92 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This is a recent style of sweet wine which is being made in the Tokaji region. It is made from Aszu berries just like a Put wine; but, winemakers have shortened the aging so the wine cannot be labelled Aszu. Depending on the winemaker, the Cuvee's are usually the equivalent of a 5 or 6 Put wine. This wine was a blend of 60% Furmint, 30% Harslevelu, and 10% Muscat. It is a single vineyard wine with all grapes coming from the Szt. Tamas vineyard. As is common, this dessert wine is fruitier and fresher tasting than the Aszu 6 Put wines. Vince presses whole bunches of Aszu grapes for this wine (instead of just selected berries like the Put wines). Citrus and apricot notes in this sweet wine. Very fresh now. 92-93 points.

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• 2000 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji 6 Puttonyos Szt. Tamás 95 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This wine and most other 6 Put wines are blends of primarily Furmint, Harslevelu and Muscat. This is another single vineyard wine from the Szt. Tamas vineyard. 10% alcohol. This dessert wine was very young but stunning. 2000 was a fabulous vintage. Already showing great complexity and depth of fruit. Powerful acidity now. Give it 20 years before opening. 94-96+ points.

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• 1999 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji 6 Puttonyos 94 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Another blend of Furmint, Harslevelu and Muscat but not from a single vineyard. 9.5% alcohol. 1999 was another excellent year. This was already showing some depth from aging. Yet it was still a baby. Notes of orange marmalade, mango and pear extract in this dessert wine. Full bodied with a long finish. 93-95 points.

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• 1998 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji 6 Puttonyos Muskotaly 95 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This was probably the most interesting 6 Put wine I tried at this estate. It is a single vineyard wine and comes from a very small vineyard devoted exclusively to Muscat grapes. This was the 1st time Vince Gergely ever made a 100% Muscat 6 Put as the weather conditions in 1998 produced a large ripe crop. Normally, he does not get enough Muscat grapes to vinify this separately. 9% alcohol. A little spicier than the other 6 Puts I tried. Solid acidity and notes of white flowers, cane sugar, apricot nectar and spiced apple cider. 94-95 points.

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• 1994 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji 6 Puttonyos 92 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Another blend of Furmint, Harslevelu and Muscat but not from a single vineyard. Vince opened this aged dessert wine for us and actually had some to sell (we passed though). Not as good a vintage as the trio of 1998-2000. Definitely a darker amber gold color. Less sweet and starting to show added complexity. Lower in sulphur than the younger 1998-2000 6 Puts. Fine; but not on the same level as his other 6 Puts. 91-92 points.

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• 1998 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji Aszú Essencia 97 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Now we are getting into some serious wine. 7% alcohol. This is really a declassified eszencia but the ripeness did not get quite high enough in the best berries to convince Vince to make an Eszencia this year. It is the equivalent of a 8-10 Put wine. This had a thick viscous texture. Sweet but with excellent acidity. Good alcohol level of 7% as well. Notes of peaches and milky caramel. Long coating finish. 96-97+ points. Can I say that this was a STEAL at $79 (about 1/3 of what you would expect to pay for a lesser Aszu Eszencia in the US)

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• 2000 Uri Borok Pinceszete Tokaji Eszencia 100 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Eszencia's are made from 100% pure botrytized aszu fruit. A 6 Put wine for example starts with a large barrel filled with a dry base wine. 6 buckets (called Puttonyos) of botrytized fruit from Aszu berries are added to the barrel. Eszencia does not start with a base wine. It is 100% juice from botrytized Aszu berries.
  
  Eszencia's are aged in 2 parts. About half the production is aged in a glass container which hold 5-10 gallons and is not fermented. This is pure juice without any alcohol. The other half is aged in a small wood barrel and because of the incredible concentration frements very slowly. After aging for 7+ years the wines are combined and the alcohol content might be around 2%.
  
  My wife and I tried this at the winery with the owner/winemaker Vince Gergely. At the end of our tasting, Vince walked into the room with a glass container that he was holding like a baby and poured some of the unfermented Eszencia into our glasses. Did I mention that 2000 was an absolutely stellar year in the Tokaji region? Well it was. I tried this wine and just sat there motionless. How could a wine be furry? It felt furry in my mouth. This wine was thick like the consistency of a very runny honey. It felt furry and yet it almost floated on my palate. It was light and airy and my tastebuds just about exploded. Super ripe pear, pure sugarcane, orange marmalade and peaches came to mind. This was like nothing, NOTHING, that I have ever tried. I swallowed my first sip and sat at the table dumbfounded. I knew I swallowed the wine. I could feel it go down my throat. Yet I could have sworn that the wine was still in my mouth. I sat there smacking my lips and trying to swallow it again. The length of this wine put every other wine I ever had to shame. And this first sample he poured for us didn't even have alcohol in it.
  
  Vince then asked us to follow him and he took us to the barrel which contained the 2nd half of the barrel sample of this wine. This part of his 2000 Eszencia contained about 1-2% alcohol at this stage. He poured some for us. The acidity in this sample was noticeably higher. The same flavors swirled on my palate. This sample had a little less body than the first. Somehow I was able to stay on my feet while tasting this wine. These 2 samples will compliment each other very well. Every once in a while a wine comes along which expands the boundaries of your thinking of what a wine can be. This was one of those wines for me. 99-100 points.

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I bought at least one of everything except for the 1994 6 Put and the 2000 Eszencia (which was not available for purchase). Simply a wonderful afternoon tasting wine and meeting a new friend.