The land

Tokaj-Hegyalja sits in northeastern Hungary, at the foot of the Zemplén Mountains where the Bodrog and Tisza rivers join. The region is defined by its volcanic soils — andesite, rhyolite, tufa — covered in places with loess deposits. The microclimate is unique: warm dry summers, autumn fogs rising off the rivers, and cool winters. The fogs are critical — they encourage the noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) on the Furmint and Hárslevelű grapes that becomes the foundation of Tokaji Aszú.

The wines

Tokaji Aszú is the historical signature: a blend of regular dry wine with hand-selected botrytis-affected (aszú) berries, finished as a sweet wine. The traditional ‘puttonyos’ system measured the number of 25-kg baskets of aszú berries added to a 136-litre cask of base wine (3 puttonyos was the entry-level; 6 puttonyos was the top). Modern Tokaji Aszú is mostly bottled at 5 or 6 puttonyos level, with the cheaper grades increasingly rare. Aszú Eszencia and the legendary Eszencia (made from the free-run juice that drips from a pile of aszú berries under its own weight, with sugar levels so high it can take years to ferment) sit above the standard Aszú.

Dry Tokaj

The last three decades have seen a major dry-wine revival in Tokaj. Dry Furmint and Hárslevelű from serious producers (Royal Tokaji, Disznókő, Oremus, Pendits, Holdvölgy, Patricius) have established Tokaj as one of the most exciting white-wine regions in Central Europe. The wines combine the precision of top Rheingau with the structure of serious Loire Chenin and a distinctive volcanic-mineral spine.

The history

Tokaji is one of the most historic wines in Europe. Louis XIV called it ‘the wine of kings, the king of wines.’ It was the first wine region in the world to be classified by quality (in 1730, predating the Bordeaux 1855 classification by 125 years). The cultural and economic importance of Tokaj in the 17th-19th centuries was enormous — the region was effectively the equivalent of Bordeaux for the central European nobility.

Vintages to know

For dry Furmint: 2019 outstanding, 2017 exceptional, 2015 superb. For Aszú: 2017, 2013, 2008, 2003, 1999 — the great vintages.

Producers we know

Royal Tokaji Wine Company (the modern reinvention pioneer), Disznókő, Oremus, Tokaj-Oremus (Vega Sicilia’s Hungarian estate), Patricius, Holdvölgy, Pendits, Demetervin, István Szepsy (one of the cult dry-Furmint producers), Royal Tokaji’s Mézes Mály and Nyulászó single-vineyard wines.