DERESZLA CASTLE Tokaji Furmint sec 2019

The Dereszla estate has one of the richest histories in the Tokaj region. Indeed, the very history of Hungary can be traced through the writings found in the cellar. The first written record of Dereszla dates back to the early 15th century: a list of King Zsigmond's possessions held in the cellars which were used to collect and store the taxes paid by his subjects, usually in the form of wine. Furmint is a very old Hungarian grape variety known throughout the world to compose the great wines of Tokaj. This 100% Furmint cuvée reveals fresh notes of green apple , pear , melon , apricot , various citrus fruits , fresh almond , hawthorn and honeysuckle . On the palate, it is dry, lively and expressive. The finish, very tense, ends with a very pleasant mineral nuance. A wine of remarkable typicity.

It was the Romans who planted the first vines at a time when the Country was part of a region called Pannonia. It was at the dawn of the 18th century that Hungary, united with Austria, ensured the export of its most famous wine throughout Europe: Tokaj (from the Furmint grape variety). As throughout Europe, in the 19th century, viticulture was destroyed by phylloxera. During the communist period, vineyards were managed in cooperatives which guaranteed a stable income for wine producers. Quite a few small winegrowers were unable to keep up with this growing economy, so the Hungarian vineyard was restructured, losing 30% of its surface area in the process. Nowadays, many family estates have emerged, some of which produce wines of incredible quality. As everywhere in Europe, viticulture is in decline as part of the European restructuring plan for the wine industry. Hungary, which is at the same latitude as Burgundy, has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. The rainfall is sufficient for non-irrigated viticulture and the soils are heterogeneous and of high quality depending on the region. With around a hundred indigenous and international grape varieties, the country has good varietal diversity. The fürmint and the hárslevelű from the Tokaj region, vinified dry and at the origin of the great sweet wines of Tokaj, are undoubtedly the best-known varieties today. The most widely planted grape variety is Olaszrizling for whites and Kékfrankos for reds. International grape varieties, mainly Bordeaux grape varieties, flourish in particular in the south of the country where they produce high-class wines.