Description
Though Tokaji Aszú gets most of the attention, the Szamorodni style of sweet wine is also mind-glowingly delicious. The name Szamorodni means “as it comes” or “the way it was grown” (in the Polish language) and refers to the fact that the botrytized berries are not picked individually from the bunches like they are for Aszú, but the whole bunches—containing both botrytized and healthy grapes—are picked together, by hand, at the end of the harvest. The bunches are also vinified together without any further selection of berries, following an initial soaking 24 hours with skins and stems, and then the pressing. The long period of soaking gives this wine a very high natural sugar content, great acidity, and lots of complexity. The wine was aged in 300-liter oak casks for one year, followed by a year of bottle aging. The grapes come from three of Dobogó’s vineyards. Like any great sweet wine from Tokaj, this golden-colored wine has layers of concentrated flavors. You get fresh fruit—like an array of citrus, orange peel, and apricots—as well as dried fruit, like raisins, dried apricot, and dried apples. It’s a rich wine, with fresh acidity, lots of texture, and an extra long finish. Dobogó Pince is owned by Izabella Zwack, of the Zwack family behind Hungary’s most famous spirit, Unicum. Zwack opened her winery, which is right in the center of Tokaj, in 1995. Winemaker Attila Dominos has been making stunning wines at Dobogó since 2003.
