Description
This is a lovely example of Tokaji Aszú, which is widely regarded as the world’s finest botrytised sweet wine. Made in equal proportions of Tokaj’s two most important and indigenous grapes—Furmint and Hárslevelű—the grapes come from three different vineyards. The winemaker followed a centuries’ old process in which botrytised berries (or grapes attacked by so-called ‘noble’ rot) are picked by hand, one-by-one and are then steeped in a base wine made from regular grapes. The wine was aged for three years in Zemplén oak barrels of 220 to 300 liters, which originate from the local hills and can be considered as part of the terroir. It is a deep orange-gold color with yellow tints, intense aromas and flavors of apricot jam, dried apricots, orange zest, raisins, dates, candied fruit, caramel, melon, mango and ripe peach. There is very pure botrytis, with the high, zesty acidity (11.3% grams per liter) cutting through residual sugar (154.5 grams per liter) to create a wine that is layered, very complex, and really long, rather than overtly sweet. It also strikes a beautiful balance between youth and age. It is delicious paired with fatty cheeses, and can even be served in place of a dessert.
