Among them was a comparative tasting with some great sauternes, and several tokajis. A very nice acquaintance that will go well with friday prawns or to any fish in general. 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. When the hungarian state monopoly was broken up in 1993, david alvarez of vega sicilia realised the immense potential of the centuriesold oremus vineyards and jumped at the chance to invest, creating the tokaji oremus company they have today. Here are a few pairing ideas for best food with tokaji wine with figgy pudding.
The royal tokaji company amazing sweet wines from hungarys tokaji region. Yet it would not be until 1630 when the greatness of the oremus vineyard was first mentioned and today it enjoys the highest universal recognition. Indeed, in the 18th century, this liquid gold was the most highlyprized and soughtafter wine in the world, served to princes, kings and czars at every capital in europe. The tokaji wine region also has the distinction of being the first in europe to be classified. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wine which has a long history in this region. Classic tokaji is made by adding buckets of heavily botrytised aszu grapes to the fresh grape must to make an intense, luscious wine. Stores and prices for oremus tokaji noble late harvest furmint, toka. The hungarians are super proud of tokaji, she said. Oremus is the most widely distributed and one of the best of the early foreign group disznoko, hetzsolo, derezsla, kiralyudvar, royal tokaj, and oremus. Several important critics have rated this tokaj wine highly. Buy 2010 tokaji aszu, 5 puttonyos, oremus, hungary wine. Bread crust, walnut, cherry and cherry stone flavours treat the taste buds. It was like drinking very aromatic honey with vivid acidity. The taste was crisp with lemon and green apples with a fresh acidity and minerals.
Well, nows your chance as this months newest arrival is a hungarian classic with a modern twist. Now tokaj has simplified the classification of its wines and has, without further ado, removed the puttonyos indication. Dry varietal furmint has caught on with local winemakers and oenophiles as sweet wines have fallen out of fashion. Botrytis cinerea, the socalled noble rot, was recognized in this picturesque region of northeastern hungary by 1650, a full 100 years before it was identified in germany. Well then, you must get a copy of the new book tokaji wine pronounced toekai by awardwinning wine writer miles lambertgocs. Its fresh and elegant, a restrained tokaji thats savory enough to pour at a celebratory holiday meal of braised duck with apricots. I was a with a wine expert, so i got to learn a lot. Tokaji was once one of the most important wines in the world. This late harvest sweet wine leads with delicate lemon blossom, canned peach, ripe apricot and mandarin orange aromas. See the oremus mandolas tokaji dry 2015 rating now. Those in the know will, of course, be aware that its the main grape in hungarys famous dessert wine, tokaji, but increasingly. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, tokaji aszu, which came from the wine region in northeastern hungary centered on the town of tokaj, was renowned through european capitals.
Tokaji is the name used to describe wine from the tokaj region in northeastern hungary. The oremus wine estate has a long and colourful history and tokaji was being produced there as early as 1620 by a calvinist priest called mate szepsy lacko. The definitive guide to hungarian wine, written by a wine expert for everyday wine lovers. The ducal family bretzenheim owned oremus in the imperial era until the family extincted in the 1860s. The wines of the hungarian region of tokaj, or as they say it toekay, are a window into the past. This setting is useful for using the oremus bible browser in a dark setting, for example at a nighttime service in a church or elsewhere. The bunches selected needed to have a majority of grapes with botrytis, or noble rot, as this lends an intense sweetness to the wine. The tokaj wine region lies 240 kms northeast of budapest in hungary, at the confluence of the tisza and bodrog rivers. Ive always wanted to try it and was delighted to get to do so a few weeks ago.
Interestingly, the grapes used for this sweet, succulent wine are harvested and pressed in bunches. Tokaj or tokaji aszu from hungary is one of the most historic and delicious dessert wines which now has its own dedicated day on december 10th but if youre looking for the ideal food pairing you can take it much further than the dessert course. Tokaji or tokay is the name of the wines from the tokaj wine region in hungary or the adjoining. Lukt duft av moden frukt, honning og appelsinskall. This is one of the most popular wines from the region. The successor louis xv used to serve tokaji to his famous mistress madame pompadour. Szepsi laczko mate 15761633 however, szepsi served his creation to princess zsuzsanna only after more than ten years, in commemoration of the easter celebrations in 1631. Scott ota discusses the hungarian wine, tokaji aszu, aka tokay and tokai, among the most delectable dessert wines on the planet. It may ferment in the cellar for two or three years, but the alcohol never gets over three percent. Some battles are fought over land, some over bruised egos, and some, in the case of tokaj, over wine. Tokaji is one of those wine styles you learn about on wine courses and read about in books but perhaps have never encountered face to face. Tokaji aszu wines are a taste of hungarian sweetness the. The royal tokaji portfolio includes dry white furmint, late harvest ats cuvee, 5 and 6 puttonyos aszu blends and single vineyard wines, aszu essencia.
A superbly made wine from a famously beautiful vintage. Needless to say, the point was not quality in todays sense of the word. The event also qualifies as the budapest master class for the institute of masters of wine. Though dry wine is made here, the regions most famous wines are lusciously sweet, and this is what most. Setting dark mode changes the colour scheme, so the background colour is dark nearly black and the text is pale. Celebrated wine writer hugh johnson was one of the founders of the royal tokaji company back in 1990, when it was the first foreign company to invest in the region. The book has practical tips and illustrations to give you a good idea what it is like to. On march 19 the second annual vince event was held in budapest, with several great tastings and wines.
On the occassion of a feast in versailles, when tokaji wines had been served, the menu card showed his majestys hedonistic quote cest le roi des vins, et le vin des rois the king of wines, and the wine of kings. Tokaj wine region in 1737 the tokaj wine region was declared the first closed wine region in the world. Historically the wine and the region were called tokay or even tokai in english but the wine is more correctly referred to as tokaji and the region as tokaj. For many years several decades before this the fermenting must of tokaji wines was fortified with grape spirit this was the first year this practice was not permitted. Tokaji should need no introduction one of the greatest and certainly most individual styles of sweet wine found anywhere.
Hungarian tokaji from royal tokaji, oremus, disznoko. In 1993 the 33 hectare estate was bought by a spanish consortium headed by david alvarez, owner of vega sicilia the vineyards are centred around 3 hills, mandulas, kupatka and losce, where furmint and harslevu are planted. A handy guide of the world famous tokaj wine region with 100 wineries, plus. There is a tokaji to suit every taste bkwine magazine. Alternative form of tokaytokay hungarian dessert wine. I think he opened it the day before at charlie trotters for his 40th birthday. A hungarian dessert wine from the northeastern tokaji region.
The wine of freedom illustrated edition by alkonyi laszlo isbn. Learn what makes hungarys tokaji wine country one of the worlds finest. Up until now the jn taste team have barely ventured further east. Along with szt tamas, betsek, nyulaszo, birsalmas, the royal tokaji winery comprises 107 hectares of vineyards. Over the years, ive heard a lot about the wonders of tokaji wine. Royal tokaji owns a unique combination of first and second growth vineyards, including one of the two great first growths mezes maly. Wine spectator gave the 2017 vintage a score of 92. The worlds first botrytis wine, hungarys tokaji won an enviable reputation centuries ago, but never before have the development of its wine types and the story of its ups and downs in fame and prestige been presented so fully in english. No matter whether the wine is sweet or dry, mancebolobete said hungarian wine drinkers will glow when talking about tokaji wines. The wine oremus tokaj, the wine of kings and king of wines is how louis xiv described it when he tasted it and the legend of the tokaj has steadily grown over its more than four hundred year history. A tasting trip to the new old world and millions of other books are available for amazon. Royal tokaji aszu 5 puttonyos 20 ungarn land vinmonopolet. Try hungarys tokaji, but keep it dry financial times.