Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2002

Sárospatak Castle is a late Renaissance architectural monument in Hungary and bears the name of its town. It is part of the 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 berries called " Aszú " (which means "dried out" in Hungarian) come from grapes dried on the vine or affected by noble rot. The aszú berries are harvested grain by grain and by successive sorting, which represents a colossal work in the vineyards. Then, these berries are added to a base white wine and macerate for several days until the wine is imbued with its extraordinary flavors .

This is the best vintage since 1999. We believe it is suitable for a very long maturity in good storage conditions. It is one of the must-haves, along with 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2008 and 2011. It has a brilliant color with orange highlights, an intense nose, with aromas of dried fruits and fig , all in a dizzying complexity. It is concentrated, powerful and fat on the palate with a long aromatic persistence where we can distinguish dried apricot , toasted almond , honey , date , saffron , turmeric , cinnamon and citrus peel . A great bottle from a confidential vintage...

Residual sugars: 176 g/L

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.