Hungary

Appreciated and recognised for several centuries, Tokaji is undoubtedly one of the oldest sweet wines in the world.

Its reputation - which led to it being considered by Louis XIV as "the wine of kings and the king of wines" - thus precedes that of the great wines of Sauternes by almost two centuries, with a classification that was the first in European history, well before that of 1855 in Bordeaux!

Geology There are two types of soil of eruptive origin in Tokaj; mainly volcanic soils as well as loess soils, including the famous Mézesmály ("honeycomb") soil of Tarcal.

Varietals Three varietals make up the Tokaji vineyard. Furmint is the main one. Hárslevelü ("lime leaf") is almost always associated with it. Finally, the small grape muscatel represents about 5% of the vineyard. It is used either as a complement or alone. Other grape varieties also exist, often on an anecdotal basis. Let's mention kövér szölö and oremus.

Climatology The Tokaj region is located in northeastern Hungary, not far from Ukraine, and enjoys a continental climate. Adjacent to the first foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, the Tokaj range of hills is located near a large, somewhat marshy plain and crossed by two rivers, the Bodrog and the Hernàd. Moisture from this plain very often initiates botrytisbut, at the same time, it is crossed by winds that also play a very important role during the passerillage phase that often follows botrytis.

Vinification The conditions for making Tokaji are among the most complex and mysterious within the sweet wines. Unlike other sweet wines, Tokaji is a blend of a dry white wine, called a base wine, and a sweet wine. The Aszú grapes are picked grain by grain and placed in baskets containing about 25 kg, the so-called puttonyos. These grapes are crushed and added to the dry base wine in 136-litre barrels, called gönci, or in 220-litre barrels called szerednyei. Depending on the desired degree of concentration, 3, 4, 5 or 6 puttonyos are added to this base wine. After maceration, this paste is pressed and then slowly fermented.

Maturation Tokaji are matured in casks, except for Eszencia, whose rich sugar content literally saturates the wood and dries out the staves, which thus become permeable. The number of puttonyos determines the length of maturation: thus a 6 puttonyos should be matured for 8 years; however, it should be noted that the legislation is changing on this point.

It is an impressive sight to walk through the Tokaji ageing cellars, carved into the foothills of the Zemplén mountain. The atmosphere is, so to speak, purified and humidity-regulated by a strange, fluffy, ashy mould - the cladosporium cellare - that only grows here.