Disznoko Late Harvest Tokaji Furmint (500ML) 2017
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For this wine, the winery selected entirely botrytized bunches from the end of October until mid-November. The grapes were de-stemmed, followed by skin contact with the must and fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine was then aged for 10-12 months in 225 liter oak barrels before bottling.
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This wine refutes the generally held notion that late-harvest Tokaji is never as profound as an aszú variation. “It’s transporting,” said one of our panelists, pulling out of a reverie involving wildflower fields and honeybees buzzing while the sun sets in a blaze of gold…It might not evoke the same images for everyone, but there’s undeniable pleasure in its smoky, spicy golden-fruit flavors and velvety, mouth-filling texture, and in how the citrusy acidity manages to keep the wine simultaneously buoyant. The flavors last in a warm afterglow of red-blushed flavor and earth, furmint’s fiery side rendered with beauty.
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Tokaj is thought to be the first vineyard region in the world to have adopted a classification system. The Disznóko estate was classified as a first growth property at the time of the initial classification in 1772 and remains so today.
The Disznóko estate consists of a single tract of land that spread over 250 acres at the south-west entrance of the Tokaj region. Four of the approved noble grape varieties are planted in this single vineyard – Furmint, Harslevelu, Zeta and Sagamuskotaly.
The estate is essentially a hill of volcanic clay soil with perlite pebbles: at the top of the hill is the boar-shaped rock from which the estate takes its name, and the vineyards are arranged down the southern slope, with the winery at the bottom of the slopes. The vineyard is protected by the cold northern winds by the Zemplén hills right behind it, and draws light and heat from its southerly exposure. Acclaimed as one of the three most favorable sites of Aszu in Tokaj. Morning autumn mists and warm breezes ensure optimal conditions for noble rot. The Botrytis develops, concentrating the natural sugars, flavors and acids in the grapes. The wines gain their fire from the mineral-rich volcanic land, rhyolite-tuff with clay soils.
In 1992, the estate was acquired by AXA Millésimes and many improvements were made: the vineyards were rehabilitated and replanted, old buildings were refurbished, and new state-of-the-art wine making facilities were constructed. The new winery pays homage to the nearby old winery and inside it’s apparent how Disznóko has, above any other estate in the region, restored Tokaji’s reputation to the days it was considered “the wine of kings and king of wines” (Louis XIV).
The name Disznóko meaning "the rock of the wild boar" was first recorded in 1413 and refers to a large rock atop a small hill overlooking the vineyards. Listed as a "first growth" as far back as 1732, this 150ha vineyard in the south west of the Tokaji region has long been regarded as one of the region's finest. As with much of Tokaji, Disznóko's fortunes suffered under nationalization during the Communist era. But, in 1992, it was purchased by AXA Millésimes (owners of Château Pichon Longueville and Quinta do Noval, amongst others) who have reinvigorated Disznóko and put in the love and investment required to return it to the top rank of Tokaji estates.
Tokaj is thought to be the first vineyard region in the world to have adopted a classification system. The Disznóko estate consists of a single tract of land, four of the approved noble grape varieties are planted in this single vineyard – Furmint, Harslevelu, Zeta and Sagamuskotaly. The estate is a hill of volcanic clay soil with perlite pebbles at the top of the hill is the boar-shaped rock from which the estate takes its name, and the vineyards are arranged down the southern slope, with the winery at the bottom of the slopes. The vineyard is protected by the cold northern winds by the Zemplén hills right behind it and draws light and heat from its southerly exposure. Acclaimed as one of the three most favorable sites of Aszu in Tokaj. Morning autumn mists and warm breezes ensure optimal conditions for noble rot. The Botrytis develops, concentrating the natural sugars, flavors and acids in the grapes. The wines gain their complexity from the mineral-rich volcanic land, rhyolite-tuff with clay soils. In 1992, the vineyards were rehabilitated and replanted, old buildings were refurbished, and new state-of-the-art wine making facilities were constructed. The new winery pays homage to the nearby old winery.
Apart from the classics, we find many regional gems of different styles.
Late harvest wines are probably the easiest to understand. Grapes are picked so late that the sugars build up and residual sugar remains after the fermentation process. Ice wine, a style founded in Germany and there referred to as eiswein, is an extreme late harvest wine, produced from grapes frozen on the vine, and pressed while still frozen, resulting in a higher concentration of sugar. It is becoming a specialty of Canada as well, where it takes on the English name of ice wine.
Vin Santo, literally “holy wine,” is a Tuscan sweet wine made from drying the local white grapes Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia in the winery and not pressing until somewhere between November and March.
Rutherglen is an historic wine region in northeast Victoria, Australia, famous for its fortified Topaque and Muscat with complex tawny characteristics.
Best known for lusciously sweet dessert wines but also home to distinctive dry whites and reds, Hungary is an exciting country at the crossroads of tradition and innovation. Mostly flat with a continental climate, Hungary is almost perfectly bisected by the Danube River (known here as the Duna), and contains central Europe’s largest lake, Balaton. Soil types vary throughout the country but some of the best vines, particularly in Tokaj, are planted on mineral-rich, volcanic soil.
Tokaj, Hungary’s most famous wine region, is home to the venerated botrytized sweet wine, Tokaji, produced from a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelű. Dry and semi-dry wines are also made in Tokaj, using the same varieties. Other native white varieties include the relatively aromatic and floral, Irsai Olivér, Cserszegi Fűszeres and Királyleányka, as well as the distinctively smoky and savory, Juhfark. Common red varieties include velvety, Pinot Noir-like Kadarka and juicy, easy-drinking Kékfrankos (known elsewhere as Blaufränkisch).