Kiralyudvar Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos 2007
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The 2007 Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos blends 70% Furmint with 30% Hárslevelu. The orange-amber colored wine is intense but bright, clear and even floral (a sea of lime blossoms!) on the initially spicy-flinty and slightly oaky nose. Sweet, lush and generous on the palate, this is a concentrated, refined and structured Aszú with good grip, minty flavors and a nicely astringent finish with some bitters. The 2007 was vinified in 500-liter Hungarian oak barrels for 24 months. Bottled with 10.5% alcohol and 190 grams of residual sugar (total acidity: 7.6 grams per liter; pH: 3.31). Tasted in March 2019.
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Just a few months after his visit, Tony purchased this estate, which for centuries had supplied Imperial wine to the Hapsburgs. The famed Tokaj winemaker Ivan Szepsy became Tony's partner, helping him rehabilitate the vineyards, while the chateau itself was rebuilt.
With time, Szepsy departed, and Tony assumed the reins full-time. Along the way, he was counseled by Noël Pinguet of the Loire Valley's greatest Vouvray producer, Domaine Huët, of which Tony is also a partner. Noël's collaboration would prove invaluable, particularly his advice to convert the estate to biodynamic viticulture.
Today, Tony is rekindling the legacy of this providential wine region. But he's not stopping there, having recognized, that Tokaj's historic grape varieties, with their viscous intensity and bright acidity, could produce world-class dry, demi-sec, and sparkling wines.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
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).