Tokaji: Hungary's Liquid Gold

The Wine of Kings and Centuries

Louis XIV of France called Tokaji "the wine of kings, the king of wines." Pope Pius IV allegedly sent one hundred oxen to fetch it from Hungary. Peter the Great of Russia stationed his own guards at the Tokaj vineyards to guarantee his personal supply. For two centuries — from the mid-seventeenth through the early nineteenth — Tokaji Aszú occupied a position in the wine world that no other wine has since matched: universally acknowledged as the finest, most prized, and most expensive wine on earth.

The fall from this position was brutal. The phylloxera epidemic in the 1880s devastated the Hungarian vineyards. World War I rewrote the map of Central Europe. Communism collectivised the wineries after World War II, standardised production, and eliminated the individual excellence that had made Tokaji legendary. By the 1980s, the wines shipped from Hungary under the Tokaji name bore little resemblance to their historical antecedents.

The revival since 1989 — driven initially by foreign investment from Spanish, British, and French wine families, followed by the emergence of a new generation of Hungarian winemakers — has been extraordinary. Tokaji today is again producing wines that justify their ancient reputation. The world has gradually rediscovered what European royalty understood three hundred years ago.

The Tokaj Region

The Tokaj wine region occupies the volcanic foothills of the Zempléni Mountains in northeastern Hungary, where the Bodrog River meets the Tisza. The region is classified as a World Heritage Site — the world's first officially classified wine region, predating Bordeaux's 1855 classification by more than a century (the first Tokaj classification dates to 1700, when Emperor Leopold I issued a decree organising the vineyards by quality).

The volcanic soils — predominantly clay over rhyolite tuff and andesite — are the key to Tokaji's character. These volcanic substrates retain heat, drain well, and impart a distinctive mineral intensity to the wines. The microclimate is equally important: autumn mists rising from the rivers create the humid conditions that allow Botrytis cinerea — noble rot — to develop on the grapes, concentrating sugars, acidity, and aromatic compounds in the berries while preserving their structure.

The region contains 28 classified crus and roughly 5,500 hectares of vineyards, though significant quantities remain underdeveloped or poorly maintained. Quality is still highly variable — a legacy of the communist era and the uneven pace of post-communist recovery.

The Furmint Grape

The dominant variety in Tokaj is Furmint — a Hungarian grape of ancient origin that is uniquely suited to both the botrytised sweet wine tradition and (increasingly appreciated) dry wine production. Furmint is naturally high in acidity, ripens late, and has thin, tight-bunched berries that are particularly susceptible to botrytis infection. This susceptibility, combined with the region's autumn mists, creates the conditions for the exceptional noble rot development that is the foundation of Tokaji Aszú.

Dry Furmint has experienced a remarkable international revival since the early 2000s. The grape's naturally high Acidity — often exceeding that of Riesling in the Mosel — combined with the mineral intensity of volcanic soils produces white wines of electric tension, citrus freshness, and striking mineral depth. Top producers are now releasing single-vineyard dry Furmints that command significant international attention and prices that would have seemed impossible a decade ago.

Hárslevelű ("linden leaf") is the second major variety, producing wines with floral aromatics and lower acidity than Furmint. Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (Muscat) is permitted in small quantities, adding perfume to blends.

Understanding Tokaji Aszú

The Botrytized sweet wines of Tokaj — the category that made the region famous — are produced through one of the most labour-intensive processes in the wine world.

Step 1: Harvesting the Aszú Berries

The harvest at Tokaj is conducted in multiple passes. As Botrytis cinerea affects individual grapes unevenly, pickers make repeated sweeps through the vineyards over weeks, selecting only fully botrytised berries — shrivelled, almost raisin-like, individually picked by hand. These berries are called aszú. The selection requires experienced eyes and hands; partially botrytised or unaffected berries go to produce the base wine, not the aszú.

Step 2: Making the Base Wine

Simultaneously, unbotrytised and partially botrytised grapes are harvested, pressed, and fermented in the normal way. This base wine — high in Acidity, dry or off-dry — will form the liquid in which the aszú berries are macerated.

Step 3: Maceration

The aszú berries are added to the base wine or fermenting must and macerated for 12 to 60 hours (the exact time varies by producer). During this maceration, the concentrated sugars, acidity, and aromatic compounds of the botrytised berries dissolve into the base wine, creating the rich, thick, honeyed must that is the raw material of Aszú.

Step 4: Pressing and Fermentation

The macerated mixture is pressed, and the resulting must is fermented — a slow, difficult process due to the extreme sugar levels. Fermentation may proceed for months or years before the wine reaches the desired alcohol level and Residual Sugar balance.

The Puttonyos System

Traditionally, aszú berries were measured in putts (wooden tubs of approximately 25kg) added per 136-litre barrel of base wine. More putts meant more aszú and therefore more sweetness. The classification ranged from 3 to 6 puttonyos; in 2013, the 3 and 4 puttonyos designations were eliminated and the minimum was raised to 5 puttonyos, representing at least 120 g/L of Residual Sugar.

The full range of Tokaji sweet wine styles: - Tokaji Late Harvest — From Late Harvest grapes, not fully botrytised; lighter in style - Tokaji Szamorodni — The traditional "as it comes" style, fermented from whole botrytised and unbotrytised clusters; may be dry (száraz) or sweet (édes) - Tokaji Aszú — The classic botrytised style, minimum 5 puttonyos = 120 g/L Residual Sugar - Tokaji Eszencia — The extreme: the free-run juice of aszú berries, with sugar levels of 450-900 g/L. So concentrated that it barely ferments, reaching perhaps 2-3% ABV. Produced in tiny quantities; the most expensive wine in the world by volume; reputed to have extraordinary life-giving properties by historical accounts.

Aging in the Tokaj Cellars

After Fermentation, Tokaji Aszú is aged in small oak barrels — traditionally 136-litre Gönc barrels, sometimes 220-litre pièces depending on the producer — in the region's distinctive volcanic tunnels cut into the hillsides. These tunnels maintain constant cool temperatures and high humidity, and their walls are covered in a thick black mould called Cladosporium cellare that feeds on wine vapours and creates the unique microbiological environment of the Tokaj cellar.

The minimum aging period for Aszú is 18 months in barrel plus a further 6 months in bottle — the wine must be at least 2 years old before release. In practice, the finest producers age their wines for 3, 5, or even more years in barrel. This extended aging develops the wines' colour from gold to amber, deepens their complexity, and integrates the extraordinary sweetness with the wine's equally extraordinary Acidity.

Key Producers

Royal Tokaji — Established in 1990 as a joint venture between foreign investors (including Hugh Johnson) and local growers, Royal Tokaji was among the first producers to restore quality Tokaji to international markets. Its single-vineyard Aszú wines — from the great crus of Mézes Mály, Betsek, and Nyulászó — set benchmarks for the category.

Disznókő — Owned by the insurance group AXA Millésimes (which also owns Château Pichon Baron in Pauillac), Disznókő has built an impeccable reputation for consistency and elegance. Its Aszú wines and the prestige Cuvée Disznókő offer different dimensions of the style.

Oremus — The historic estate of the Rakóczi family, now owned by Vega Sicilia of Rioja, produces benchmark wines including a remarkable Tokaji Eszencia when conditions allow.

Szepsy — István Szepsy is widely regarded as the godfather of the modern Tokaji revival. Working organically from his estate in the great cru of Mád, Szepsy produces wines of extraordinary precision and intensity — both Aszú and dry Furmint — that represent the summit of what the region can achieve.

Kikelet — A small producer in Tokaj making wines with minimal intervention and maximum terroir focus; one of the new generation redefining what Tokaji means.

Dry Tokaj: The Rising Category

The revolution in dry Furmint production is perhaps the most exciting current development in the Tokaj region. Producers including Szepsy, Pendits, and a growing cohort of others are demonstrating that the volcanic soils and the Furmint grape can produce dry white wines of world-class quality — wines that stand comparison with the finest white Burgundy or Mosel Riesling in terms of mineral precision, aging potential, and complexity.

These wines are expanding Tokaj's audience beyond dessert wine devotees to the broader fine wine community. A serious dry Furmint from a great cru in an exceptional vintage is a wine to age, to study, and to drink with reverence alongside the finest food.

Serving Tokaji

Tokaji Aszú should be served cool but not cold — around 12°C — in a standard white wine glass, not a dessert wine tulip. The wine's extraordinary aromatic complexity benefits from air circulation. Pour modest amounts: the concentration is such that a small glass provides intense pleasure, and the wine is rich enough that more than a few glasses are rarely needed.

Pairing Tokaji with food is a pleasure. The classic match is foie gras — the wine's sweetness mirrors the liver's richness, while its acidity cuts through the fat. Beyond foie gras: blue cheese (Roquefort, Gorgonzola), apple and pear tarts, Christmas pudding, and — most traditionally — the walnut and honey pastries of Hungarian cuisine.

Old Tokaji ages extraordinarily well; the best examples from the nineteenth century are still drinking (when they can be found). Modern wines from the great producers will develop beautifully for two to three decades. The wine's exceptional Acidity — often exceeding 10-15 g/L titratable acidity — provides the structural backbone that allows this longevity.