Tokaj

The Tokaj Wine Region was insribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as a historic cultural landscape. And Tokaji is not just sweet wines, although thez are justly famous for this incredibly delicious, honeyed wine.

In the previous centuries, crowned heads and rulers of vast empires served and consumed Aszú, the golden beverage of Tokaj. But the area of Tokaj is not just about sweet wines.

Once again we were privileged to get a private tour and tasting where we experienced 8 wines ranging from a fairly dry Sauvignon Blanc to the heavenly Aszú. In fact the Sauvignon Blanc had me completely fooled. Its bouquet was more reminiscent of the sweet wines than a typical SB, a perfect example of how the soil influences the product. We also tasted a Furmint and Hárslevelű (harshleveloo), two more varieties that were new to us. Both varieties as well as the zellow muscat which grows here are suitable for botrytis, the noble mould that imparts the delicious flavour to the wines. In fact the walls of the cellars we toured and where they store their barrels are covered in noble rot. Sounds gross and smells weird but boy, it sure pays off in the wine.

I'm bringing home a bottle of the Azsú, the 6 basket type.



This is a picture of a wall of Tokaji wines.

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