Tokaji Forditas Furmint 2016

The Royal Tokaji winery is located on the main square of the village of Mád, approximately 240 kilometers northeast of Budapest in the Tokaj wine region. This “ Forditas ” type Tokaji , which means duplicate in Hungarian, is the result of a second maceration of Aszú berries from 6 Puttonyos already pressed. The Aszú berries will then infuse a fermenting dry Tokaji wine. After repressing and the end of fermentation, the wine will be placed in 500 liter Hungarian oak barrels within the estate's vast underground cellars to mature for over 2 years. This exceptional sweet wine reveals notes of quince paste , dried apricot , flower honey , pineapple , vine peach , candied lemon , hazelnut and Christmas spices . The aromatic palette is complex and appetizing. The palate is rich and the acidity is lively, which demonstrates perfect balance and suggests great aging potential. The finish is long unlike the volume of the bottle which we regret....

A confidential vintage produced in only 4,000 bottles

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.