Sárospatak Castle Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2021

This Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos is born in the Tokaj vineyard, in north-eastern Hungary, the historic cradle of Central Europe's great sweet wines and an appellation listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The vines cover the slopes of the Zemplén Mountains, on volcanic soils, at the confluence of the Bodrog and the Tisza. Autumn morning mists followed by sunny afternoons encourage botrytis. The Château de Sárospatak brand, which takes its name from the historic town in the north of the appellation, makes this cuvée only in the finest vintages.

The harvest stretches over several weeks: the aszú berries, shrivelled and concentrated by noble rot, are picked berry by berry in successive passes. They are then macerated in fermenting must or a base wine, following the traditional Tokaj method, before being pressed. The six puttonyos level corresponds to the most concentrated category of classic aszú. The wine then undergoes long ageing before bottling, which allows it to gain complexity and harmony.

This wine reveals notes of dried apricot, fig, quince, candied orange peel, honey, saffron, toasted almond, sweet spices and flint. The bright golden colour heralds an intense, delicate nose. The palate, of great aromatic richness, remains free of heaviness thanks to refreshing acidity that draws out a remarkably persistent finish.

It was the Romans who planted the first vines, at a time when the country was part of a region called Pannonia. At the dawn of the 18th century, Hungary, united with Austria, exported its most famous wine throughout Europe: Tokaj (made from the Furmint grape variety). As everywhere in Europe, winegrowing was destroyed by phylloxera in the 19th century. During the communist period, vineyards were run as cooperatives, which guaranteed winemakers a stable income. Quite a few small growers could not keep up with this expanding economy, so Hungary's vineyards were restructured, losing 30% of their area in the process. Today many family estates have made their mark, some of them producing wines of incredible quality. As elsewhere in Europe, winegrowing is declining under the European restructuring plan for the wine industry. Hungary, which lies at the same latitude as Burgundy, has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall is sufficient for non-irrigated viticulture, and the soils are varied and of high quality depending on the region. With around a hundred native and international grape varieties, the country enjoys good varietal diversity. The Furmint and Hárslevelű of the Tokaj region, made as dry wines and the source of Tokaj's great sweet wines, 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 varieties, flourish particularly in the south of the country, where they produce wines of great class.