Hungary | Tokaj

Tokaj (or Tokaji) is one of the most historically significant and unique wine regions in the world. Located in northeastern Hungary (and a small part of Slovakia), Tokaj is celebrated globally for producing some of the world's most unique and long-lived sweet wines made from the Furmint grape. Its history and distinctive winemaking traditions have earned it protected UNESCO World Heritage status.

Tokaj holds the distinction of being the world's first delimited wine region, recognized by a royal decree in 1737 to protect its quality and origin. It became known as the "Wine of Kings, King of Wines," famously beloved by Louis XIV of France and Peter the Great of Russia.

The distinct style of Tokaj's sweet wines is entirely dependent on a natural phenomenon: Botrytis cinerea, or Noble Rot. As Tokaj sits at the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, the mist and humidity from these rivers provide the perfect conditions in the autumn for the Noble Rot to form on the grapes. The fungus pierces the grape skin, evaporating the water inside and shriveling the berries into raisins. This concentrates the sugars, acids and flavours, while also adding complex notes of saffron, ginger, and honey. The resultant shriveled grapes are called Aszú berries. These are carefully picked individually, sometimes over several weeks, leading to intensive labour and high production costs.

Tokaj offers a range of styles, from the intensely sweet and concentrated to highly aromatic dry wines.

1. Tokaji Aszú (The Classic Sweet Wine)

This is the region's most famous style and represents the core of its tradition. To produce this style of sweet wine, the hand-picked Aszú berries are crushed into a dough, which is then macerated in a base wine (usually dry Furmint) or must. Historically, the sweetness level was measured in Puttonyos, referencing the number of traditional wooden baskets (puttonyos) of Aszú berries added to a 136-liter barrel of base wine. Modern labeling typically ranges from 3 Puttonyos (medium sweet) to 6 Puttonyos (very sweet and rich). Characterised by incredible complexity and freshness, Tokaji Aszú displays typical flavours that include apricot jam, orange marmalade, honey, tobacco, and mineral notes, balanced by the high, essential acidity that prevents the wine from tasting cloying.

2. Tokaji Eszencia

This is the rarest and most expensive wine style in the world, often taking decades to ferment due to its extremely high sugar content. Tokaji Eszencia is made purely from the free-run juice of the Aszú berries, collected solely by the grapes' own weight. It is so viscous that it’s often consumed with a spoon rather than a glass. Sugar levels frequently exceed 450 grams per litre. It is a powerful, almost immortal wine, often lasting a century or more.

3. Dry Furmint

In recent decades, Tokaj has gained greater recognition for its dry white wines made primarily from the Furmint grape. These wines are intensely mineral, high in acidity and offer structured flavours of pear, lime, and smoke. They are often aged in oak, giving them a rich texture comparable to high-quality white Burgundy or dry Riesling.