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Great Hungarian sweet white wine from the Tokaj-Hegyalja region in the far north east of Hungary of such renown it is even mentioned in the national anthem. Wines from the village of Tokaj itself may be called Tokaj; all others must be called Tokaji, the `i' denoting `from the region of'. In English-speaking countries it was long known as Tokay (which has also been the name of an extraordinary Australian fortified wine, Liqueur Tokay. See also Tokay d'Alsace, once a synonym for Pinot Gris).
According to Hungarian wine lore, the region's ability to produce unique sweet yet fragrant wines was discovered in 1650 when it was all owned by Zssuzsanna Lorantfly. The estate's priest, Abbot Mate Szepsi, who was also in charge of wine production, ordered the harvest to be delayed because he feared an attack from the Turks. Thanks to this delay, some of the grapes developed noble rot and were picked and crushed separately before being poured into the must. The resulting wine, broached during Easter celebrations the following year, was much admired. Within the next 10 years the noble rot fungus is supposed to have been recognized (more than 100 years before it was in Germany at Schloss Johannisberg). The vineyards of this region were some of the first to have been subject to classification, in 1700. By the 18th century this extraordinary wine had been introduced to the French court (see Hungary, history), and was subsequently introduced to the Russian imperial court by the Habsburgs. Only Constantia from the Cape of Good Hope, and to a lesser extent Moldavian Cotnari, rivalled this wine, generally known outside Hungary, as `the wine of kings and king of wines' during this period of sweet wine worship, with Tokay Essencia or Tokaji Esszencia regarded as an all-purpose restorative. During most of the 20th century, Tokaji languished. Under Soviet domination quantity rather than quality was encouraged, although a surprising number of individual growers and wine-makers continued to uphold traditions. The wine writer Hugh Johnson and other private investors set up the Royal Tokaji Wine Company in 1989 and the early 1990s saw an influx from an unusually cosmopolitan range of investors, including AXA Millesimes and another insurance giant from France and Vega Sicilia from Spain. In 1995 they created a new vineyard classification and are dedicated to restoring the image of this noble wine, with styles of wine varying quite widely in degrees of oxidation. The Tokaj-Hegyalja region includes 5,500 ha/13,600 acres of vineyards and 28 villages, including Tokaj near Hungary's northernmost boundary, which has given its name to the appellation and the region as a whole. The most famous vineyards are in Tarcal, Mad, Tallya, and Tolcsva. The quality and character of the wine differs according to the situation of individual rows in the vineyard. Geographically, the region extends over the border with Slovakia but today Hungary is by far the dominant producer of Tokaji. Vines are grown on three main soil types, clay, loess, or a sort of sand, in declining order of the wines typically produced on them. The warming effect of the Carpathian mountains which shelter the region from the east, north, and west result in a macroclimate of humid nights and long, warm autumns, which combination, together with the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, favours the development of noble rot (rather like Sauternes). Noble rot does not develop every year, but natural sugar levels of 20 g/l at picking qualify the grapes as Aszu (pronounced `ossoo') (the Hungarian equivalent of the Austrian term Ausbruch). Particularly fine vintages have been 1993, 1975, 1972, and 1937. The principal grape variety grown here on about two-thirds of the vineyard is the fiery Furmint, blended with the indigenous Harslevelu and occasionally perfumed by small quantities of the golden mutant of Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, here sometimes called Muscat Lunel, Yellow Muscat, or Muskotalyos. Viticultural methods are similar to those elsewhere, except that strict pruning is needed in order to limit yields and maximize the likelihood of noble rot. The harvest is generally very late. The traditional start date of 28 October has been abandoned, but picking often continues late into November. Close and frequent inspection of vineyards is necessary in order to determine which of the varied sorts of Tokaji can be made from each part. The prime purpose of viticulture here is to produce Aszu and everything else is either a by-product, a substitute in less successful vintages, or the produce of those too impatient to wait for noble rot. In sections of the vineyard where half or more of the berries have turned into shrivelled Aszu grapes, the berries are picked individually. In parts where the proportion of Aszu berries is less than 50 per cent such a laborious process is deemed unprofitable and the mixture of grapes is harvested and called Szamorodni, or `as it comes'. Thus the harvest yields three different basic ingredients: the selected Aszu grapes from which Aszu wine is made; the Szamorodni mixture from which Szamorodni wine is made (dry or sweet depending on sugar content); and grapes without any Aszu content from which either base wine for Tokaji Aszu or varietal wines are made. These varietal wines may be labelled Tokaji Furmint, Tokaji Harslevelu, or Tokaji Muscat and are bottled in regular 75-cl bottles instead of the long-necked 50-cl flask special to Tokaji. The most problematic aspect of making Tokaji is ensuring that the base wine has a high enough alcoholic strength for the resultant wine to remain stable (for Aszu combines with sulphur too readily to be stabilized by it). Grapes for the base wine are therefore increasingly picked even later than those for Aszu (fortification and pasteurization, old standbys, were outlawed by the wine law of 1997). The Aszu berries are stored until the base wine, the other component for the production of Tokaji Aszu, has been fermented. They are then kneaded to a sweet paste and added, in carefully controlled proportions, to lots of base wine specially selected for their superior levels of alcoholic strength, acidity, and extract. Some remaining unfermented fructose is also regarded as an advantage. Base wine has traditionally been measured in the special small 136-l wooden casks made in nearby Gonc, while the Aszu paste was traditionally measured in puttonyos, special hods with a capacity of 20 to 25 kg (44-55 lbs). The higher the number of puttonyos added to a Gonc cask, the sweeter the wine. Today, Tokaji Aszu may be sold as 3, 4, 5, or 6 puttonyos according to certain minimum levels of residual sugar and extract. A 6-puttonyos wine, for example, must contain 150 g/l residual sugar and 45 g/l sugar-free extract. The paste is now made mechanically by gentle mashing of the Aszu berries and the base wine poured over the paste, stirred, and left to macerate and extract the special Aszu properties from the paste for between 24 and 36 hours. After gentle, usually pneumatic pressing, this new wine is racked into the special Gonc casks in which it must be matured for at least three years. Another important ingredient in the unique style of Tokaji is the curious network of low tunnels burrowed out of the hillsides, supposedly to protect the wines from marauding Turks, in which the wine is matured. The walls of these cool (10 ° C/50 ° F), damp (78 to 98 per cent humidity) cellars are lined with a fungus, Racodium cellare, which forms film-forming yeasts very similar to, but colder and less active than, the flor of Jerez on the surface of the wine in the casks. Topping up was deliberately discouraged during the communist era, which usefully accelerated the wines' ageing. Tokaji is distinguished by the flavour of its particular grapes, high levels of acidity and extract, and varying levels of residual sugar. The dry Tokaji Szamorodni exported by the Tokaj Keresked'haz usually tastes like a rather flat sherry, although there is every reason to suppose that quality could improve substantially. A sweeter version was also made, but it lacks the natural vitality of true Tokaji Aszu, which tastes of botrytis, quince, and raisins in youth and takes on almond, walnut, chocolate, and bread flavours with age. Two even sweeter forms of wine are made from aszu berries, in tiny quantities and only in the finest years. A 7-puttonyos Tokaji Aszu Esszencia contains between 180 and 230 g/l residual sugar whereas Esszencia itself may contain anything from 500 to 800 g/l. Tokaji Esszencia is a lightly alcoholic syrup made from that small quantity of free-run juice that results from the storage of Aszu grapes before they are mashed to a paste. It is so high in sugar and non-fermentable components that it ferments extremely slowly, over many years. The 1997 wine law sets a minimum of five years in cask. It is intended for blending purposes only-although it is inevitably the object of much curiosity on the part of the increasing numbers of foreign visitors to the region. As one might perhaps expect of a combination of proud Hungarians and foreign investors, Tokaji has been a hotbed of vinopolitical ferment. The most highly regarded producers include Istva Szepsy (a descendant of Mate Szepsi), Royal Tokaji Wine Company, Oremus, Disnok, Pajzos, and Bodrog-Varhegy. Bibliography - Katona, J., A Guide to Hungarian Wine, trans. Z. Beres (Budapest, 1990).
- Tokaj-Hegyaljai Album (1867).
References acidity ageing alcoholic strength AXA classification clay Constantia Cotnari extract film-forming yeasts flor fortification free-run fructose Furmint Harslevelu Hungary loess macroclimate Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains noble rot oxidation pasteurization Pinot Gris pruning residual sugar sand Sauternes Schloss Johannisberg sherry Slovakia sulphur Tokay d'Alsace varietal Vega Sicilia
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