Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2003

Sárospatak Castle is a monument of late Renaissance architecture in Hungary and is named after its town. It is part of Hungarian national heritage. The Tokaji of this name are produced only in the best years in order to create exceptional vintages. They come from the wine-growing areas of Sarospatak, Tolcsva and the south of the appellation and are acclaimed today by the great Sommellerie. Rich in sugars, aromas and acids, the so-called “ Aszú ” berries (which means “dried out” in Hungarian) come from grapes dried out on the vine or affected by noble rot. The aszú berries are harvested grain by grain and by successive sorting, which represents a colossal amount of work in the vines. Then, these berries are added to a base white wine and macerated for several days until they imbue the wine with its extraordinary flavors .

As everywhere in Europe, the year 2003 recorded high temperatures during the summer, which thus brought the grapes to very early maturity. This Tokaji 6 Puttonyos is a blend of 2 Hungarian grape varieties: Furmint and Zeta . The quality is there, but the quantity remains low. The quality of the botrytis and the raisining are those of great years. This blend aims to obtain a fine and complex sweet wine, which combines acidity, power and delicacy. Sixteen years after its harvest, this Château Sarospatak 6 puttonyos 2003 has reached its maturity phase, which will continue for a good twenty years. It has a brilliant color with orange highlights, an intense nose, with aromas of dried fruit and fig , all in a stunning complexity. It is concentrated, powerful and fatty on the palate with a long aromatic persistence where we distinguish dried apricot , toasted almond , honey , date , saffron , turmeric , cinnamon and citrus peel . A large bottle from a confidential vintage...

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 Fürmint 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 hárslevelü 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 Olasrizling for whites and Kéfrankos for reds. International grape varieties, mainly Bordeaux grape varieties, flourish in particular in the south of the country where they produce high-class wines.