Tokaj auction sneak preview

Posted on 10 April 2013

Last week I’ve blogged about the upcoming première Tokaj wine auction, and some of you have followed my pre-auction tasting reports on Twitter. I’ve travelled to Budapest to go through the 22 auction lots to produce meaningful tasting notes and assessments for the Tokaj Confrérie and prospective buyers. These will be published in full on my blog shortly.

In summary, it was an excellent tasting. There are some great wines coming on this auction. Stéphanie Berecz of the Kikelet estate, one of my Tokaj heroes (see full profile here), made a brilliant Hárslevelű Váti 2012 that is aromatic, mineral and poised. There are two pretty good Furmints coming from Disznókő (Hegymegi parcel, one that they’ve never bottled separately to my knowledge) and Royal Tokaj, while within a higher price bracket, István Szepsy is offering a Nyulászó Furmint that with its dimension, richness and structure, proves worthy of Szepsy’s legendary reputation.

Yet the surprising Furmint comes from Samuel Tinon, never a dry wine specialist but in 2012 he has ticked all the right boxes with his Szt. Tamás Furmint, a wine of impressive concentration and structure that also offers a fascinating aromatic profile: with its bouquet of nuts and curry spice, it makes you think immediately of Jura Vin Jaune, or dry Szamorodni Tokaj, a traditional but nearly extinct oxidised dry wine that Tinon has passionately championed since 2003. (He is also offering a special 2006 Szamorodni at the auction). By adding that elusive oxidative character to a mineral dry Furmint, Tinon is pushing the boundaries of the genre. If he can continue with quality as high as this 2012, Tokaj has a new dry wine star.

Sweet wine remains the great speciality of Tokaj, and the auction lots were consistently outstanding on a level no other region, not even Sauternes, could match. Highlights included two 2010 Aszú bottlings: a rare 100% Hárslevelű by Disznókő as well as Tokaj Nobilis. Amazingly structured wines where the steely acids almost obliterates the 148 and 200 g of sugar respectively. This is what makes Tokaj unique.

Then climbing up the ladder, some even more amazing wines coming from Barta (a 300-gram Aszú-Eszencia from the Öreg Király vineyard, essence of liquid peach), Gábor Orosz (2002 Aszú-Eszencia, 400 g sugar and 6% alcohol but masses of acidity; essence of honeyed lemon) up to the 2000 Eszencia from Samuel Tinon, not a wine but the essence of concentrated grape syrup: 80% of sugar, more than you can dissolve in hot water. These have to be tasted to be believed. Go see your bank for a loan and book tickets to Tokaj for April 27th.

Disclosure: My day trip to Budapest to taste the auction lots was paid for by the Tokaj Confrérie.