There can’t be many national anthems that pay tribute to the wine of their homeland but, such is the reverence Hungarians attach to their most famous wine, Tokaji, that it is rightly celebrated in their patriotic hymn
Tokaji is chiefly made from the Furmint grape (it may also include its stablemate Hárslevelü) but can even be made with Muscat Blanc (aka Yellow Muscat). Furmint itself is a half-sibling of both Riesling and Chardonnay which is a promising portent for today’s wine palates
In years gone by Furmint February was an established part of the Hungarian cultural calendar and, since 2019, it has become part of London’s wine landscape. Last year it was held at 67 Pall Mall, this year it moved to Merchant Taylors Hall and the wines were as grand and opulent as the surroundings
200 – 300 years ago if you were drinking Tokaji it would be a safe to say you were either a King, Emperor, Pope, Prince, Empress or Tsar. Such is the esteem this nectar was held in that le Roi Soleil himself (Louis XIV) served it at the Versailles Court, declaring it: “Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum”. But, if you name is not Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson Hon FRIBA, (Latin expert) this translates as “Wine of Kings, King Of Wines”. It is even reputed to revive corpses, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover they carry a case of Tokaji on every Rolling Stones tour bus in case Keith has a funny turn
Tokaji represents one of the world’s oldest systems of wine appellation (ages before Bordeaux got its act together) and is also believed to be the world’s oldest botrytized wine. I don’t propose to bore you with the whole Puttonyos thing (the unit given to denote the level of sugar and hence the sweetness of the Tokaji), suffice it to say this topaz coloured liquid, in its distinctively wonky 500ml flask, is a sweet wine of some renown. Prices range from around £40 for a 6 Puttonyos Aszu wine (sweet and luscious) up to £400+ for an Eszencia (think golden nectar flecked with gold leaf, produced by cherubs). The sort of elixir I imagine one would serve January Jones if you were: A) In charge of her wine cellar or…
B) Ahem, didn’t have a restraining order forbidding you to be within 2 miles of her!
Tokaji continued to be off the lushometer scale for many years to come, attracting musical fans like Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, Strauss, Haydn and Miles Davis. OK, one of those isn’t true, but I would so have liked it to be! Think how great it would be to own an album called Kind of Aszu? It is believed the wine Rasputin’s assassins adulterated with cyanide was Tokaji and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle has Sherlock Holmes eulogising… “Another glass, Watson!” said Mr. Sherlock Holmes as he extended the bottle of Imperial Tokay. … “It is a good wine, Holmes.” – “A remarkable wine, Watson. Our friend upon the sofa has assured me that it is from Franz Joseph’s special cellar at the Schönbrunn Palace” (from “His Last Bow”)
At the dawn of the new millennium two important developments occurred in Tokaj. First, in the village of Mad, wine disruptor, Istvan Szepsy, was toiling away to create a single-vineyard dry Furmint that is the wine that changed everything for Tokaj, forever. Then down the road at Château Pajzos they were producing a Tokaji Ice Wine from frozen and botrytized grapes. From 2000 things were never going to be the same for wine lovers
But back to today where we pick up Fuseblower (accompanied by Creative Director and Photographer – Steve Miller) armed with his two words of Hungarian, used liberally throughout the day, ready to be transported (metaphorically and spiritually) to the foothills of the Zemplen mountains, in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Tokaj (Tokaji is the spelling for the wine)
Topography, environmental and climatic conditions all have a part to play in the production of this wine. The terroir is of critical importance in the composition of these dry Furmints – whether it is the clay or loess soil on volcanic subsoil – or the micro-climate created by the confluence of the Bodrog and Tisza rivers. It is a unique combination of factors that result in the 27 villages of this region in NE Hungary creating wines of earth-shattering importance!
Significantly the production of this new style of wine came at a time when climate change was already having an effect on Tokaj. The number of vintages which were affected by botrytis had dropped by 50%, as a result of longer, hotter, drier weather. It was becoming harder and harder to rely on their signature Tokaji sweet wines
The dry Furmints have the fragrant aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc, the richness and oak-friendliness of Chardonnay with the minerality and piercing acidity of Riesling. Pretty much the holy trinity of the UK’s favourite wine profiles. They also have the concentration and length to take on Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Gris, which is precisely why I am such a fanboy for dry Furmint (and simultaneously a Tokaji junkie!)
Conscious of descending into vinous hyperbole I’ll keep these adjectives brief. Dry Furmints veritably buzz with energy: they offer citrus and white pepper flavours overlaid with appley tartness, along with spicy and smoky overtones and bright, vibrant acidity. It is these characteristics and the fact the Furmint takes well to oak aging, in Hungarian casks, that for me marks them out as wines to rival top draw white Burgundy, Chenin Blanc, Alsace and Rhône appellations – at a fraction of the price. This would explain why Her Grace Jancis R and my ultimate wine hero, Steven Spurrier, were both methodically working their way through the producers’ tables. Jancis cautioned …”do not under any circumstances miss the Szepsy wines on Table 9!” (gentle reader I didn’t dare ignore her wise counsel!) and Mr S casually mentioned he was off to Budapest the following day to be a judge for Tokaj wines. He conspiratorially confided that he can’t get enough of Hungary and it was hard not to agree wholeheartedly with him
As a quick aside, the list of ‘celebrities’ with Hungarian ancestry or heritage include: Rachel Weisz, Joaquin Phoenix, Drew Barrymore, Adrien Brody, Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Lee-Curtis and cubie guy, Ernö Rubik – all hail from Magyar stock. I’m afraid I have no insight on their purchase history of Hungarian wines, but I like to imagine Ms Weisz has introduced Daniel Craig to Furmint and he loves, loves, loves it
Did I mention the flexibility of dry Furmint when it comes to food pairing? Well, since you ask; it is the ideal match for spicy Asian cuisine, a solid go-to for all things seafood – bliss with oysters – and a great foil for cheesy endings. So chassé round the Chablis, pirouette away from the Pouilly-Fumé and fandango straight to the Furmint!
Wines that stood out for me from Furmint February appear below. It is hugely exciting to see how these 36 Hungarian winemakers are creating unusually elegant dry Furmints which are richly textured, with amazing minerality. The sparkling wines were a real surprise (reminiscent of English Spakling Wines from Hampshire) including an extraordinary Pét-Nat from TR Wines – which stands for Tállya Radicals (the name of the village) and Anikó Kada, the owner and winemaker, is a pure force of nature
But the mic drop moment was the Paangold Tokaji Szamorodni made from late-harvested, very ripe bunches of Furmint with some botrytis. It is fermented to dryness under a layer of flor (the veil of yeast that develops on the surface of the wine as the ambient temperature in the cellar begins to rise). It is an intriguing, and relatively rare wine that is even in danger of being phased out officially, which would be an act of criminality. Imagine an exquisite En Rama Fino sherry or an intense and vivid Arbois Vin Jaune – that is Szamorodni
Effort will be rewarded
Barta Öreg Király Dülö Furmint 2015 (Corney & Barrow)
Mad Furmint 2016 (Alliance Wine)
Sauska Brut Sparkling NV (Berkmann Wine Cellars)
Füleky Estate Fülöp Dry 2018 (Amathus Drinks)
Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Dry 2018 (Armit Wines)
Carpinus Furmint Lapis 2018 (No UK Distributor Yet)
TR Wines Tállya Pét-Nat 2019 (No UK Distributor Yet)
Paangold Tokaji Szamorodni 2003 (No UK Distributor Yet)
Szepsy Úrágya Furmint 2017 (Top Selection)
Royal Tokaji ‘The Oddity’ 2017 (Bibendum)
Hétszölö Furmint Organic 2018 (Les Caves de Pyrene)
Fuseblower would like to thank R&R Drinkers for inviting him to Furmint February and Wines of Hungary UK who organized and curated the event
Photos © Steve Miller + IMDB
Fuseblower 