Tokaji

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A bottle of Tokaji Eszencia (2000 vintage)
The Hungarian region of origin of the Tokaj (red) ...
... and the Slovak region of origin of the Tokaj (red).

Tokajer is one of the most important and traditional wines in the world. It is made from white wine grapes and according to various processes in different degrees of sweetness and quality. Especially the sweet wines Tokaji Aszú 'Tokajer Ausbruch' and Tokaji Eszencia 'Tokajer Essenz ' have been valued by wine connoisseurs for centuries as precious fine wines and classics of the wine world. Tokajer is produced exclusively in the Tokaj wine-growing region, which is largely (around 90%) in northern Hungary , and a small part in southern Slovakia . It is named after the old Hungarian city of Tokaj .

The Tokaj wine region, 87 kilometers long and three to four kilometers wide, stretches between the Tisza and Bodrog rivers at the foot of the Tokaj Mountains . As a result of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, the area was divided into a larger Hungarian part, Tokaj-Hegyalja 'at the foot of the mountain near Tokaj' , and a relatively small Slovak part, Tokajská vinohradnícka oblasť .

The term “Tokajer” has been comprehensively protected by law by the European Union as a geographical indication of the origin of wine. Only certain wines from the Tokaj wine-growing region are allowed to bear the name Tokaji 'Tokajer' . The European Union also allowed producers from southern Slovakia to produce and market wines under the name Tokajský / -á / -é , provided that the quality regulations applicable in Hungary are applied.

In outstanding years, the Tokaj wine region can produce unique wines that are among the best sweet wines in the world. The production of the Tokajer (outbreak and essence - not the dry Furmint) is risky and costly. It is made from dried berries that have shriveled like raisins, which have undergone a natural must concentration due to noble rot on the vine. The occurrence of noble rot depends on the weather and does not occur every year.

history

The Tokaj was the first great sweet wine after the sweetened wines of antiquity. The earliest written traces of viticulture in the Tokaj region go back to the 13th century, and those of winemaking to the 15th century. Aszú wine was first mentioned in a document in 1571. According to legend, the discovery of noble rot is based on a coincidence. The first description of the production of Tokaji Aszú dates back to 1630. It was written by the reformed clergyman Szepsi Laczkó Máté [Matthias Laczkó of Szepsi, now Moldava nad Bodvou, SK].

Tokaj vineyards in the 2nd half of the 16th century. Graphic by Georg Hoefnagel .

In the 18th century, the wine was introduced to the French court of Louis XIV as well as to the Russian court of the tsars and called the "king of wines and wine of kings" ( Hungarian Borok királya, királyok bora ). The Tokaj vineyards were counted among the most valuable possessions in Hungary and were largely owned by the nobility. In 1730, the world's first classification of vineyards was carried out. It was based on a three-level layer hierarchy.

The tradition of viticulture brought the area a lot of prosperity, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. The phylloxera epidemic almost brought Tokaj viticulture to a standstill. In the 20th century, the Tokaj experienced several other turning points. After the First World War there was a crisis. Before the Second World War, consideration was given to giving up viticulture in favor of fruit growing, which was more profitable at the time.

After the war, the Tokaj Wine Combine was founded in 1971 as the first Hungarian combine. The hillside locations, some of which had already been neglected, were abandoned and viticulture expanded into the plain. Production was completely geared towards the Soviet Union as the main buyer (more than two thirds of production). Since this customer bought everything that was offered, there was no interest in differentiated production with corresponding marketing. Interestingly, it turned out after the fall of the Wall that the single-site wines were still produced, but not marketed as such.

In the 1970s there was a "power struggle" between the Tokaj Wine Combine and the state research institute: while the former relied on high-standard mass wine production, the research institute wanted to revive single-vineyard wine production. The research institute was dissolved in 1983 and incorporated into the wine combine. After 1989 the wine combine was also dissolved and privatized in lots. The consortia from various western industrial countries, including Spain and Japan, each usually acquired one of the previously famous locations. With the vineyards, they also received the cellars and the wine stocks from the corresponding locations.

The new owners were of the opinion that the market required fruity wines, but that freshness was lost with long barrel storage. The prescribed barrel storage was therefore reduced to three years; According to the traditional view, the Szamorodni had to be stored in the barrel for at least two years, and the Aszú for as many years as butter were added to Aszú berries, i.e. five to eight years. The new regulation led to a stylistic reorientation of the Tokaj from the Sherry type to the Sauternes type. The reduction in barrel storage also reduced costs (capital costs, evaporation losses). A new layer classification took place in 1995.

In 2002 the Hungarian part of the Tokaj wine-growing region (Hungarian Tokaj-Hegyalja , Tokaj-hegyaljai borvidék ) was added to the list of world cultural heritage as a cultural landscape .

Quote

Wine connoisseur Michael Broadbent on the Tokay essence , vintage 1811 (tasted on December 31, 1972):

“Its smell and taste were out of this world, 'ambrosial nectar', I wrote in exuberance, 'spicy, crushed grapes, concentrated, lush'. The only wine without a 'finish' that I have ever tasted: It just stayed in the mouth - and stayed and stayed and stayed [...] "

Vineyards on the slopes of the Tokaj Mountains
Vineyards in the Slovak part with the autumn fog, which promotes noble rot

Geography, soil and climate

The wine region is a volcanic hilly landscape. The hills, once active volcanoes, are foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Here you go into the Hungarian lowlands. There is a continental climate , further north viticulture is no longer possible. The Tokaj wine region is a climatic niche, protected by the mountains of the Tokaj Mountains , a microclimate arises in autumn that, with moisture and fog , can offer good conditions for the onset of the noble rot Botrytis cinerea and the subsequent shrinkage of the berries.

The vines thrive in the subsoil mainly on strongly bound clay and weathered soils, which have emerged from volcanic rocks such as andesite and their tuffs . The vineyard soils are often stony. In addition, there is a layer of loess and sand in some places .

Grape varieties

Terraced vineyard near Tokaj .

Only white late-ripening grape varieties are grown : Furmint , Lindenblättriger (Hungarian Hárslevelű , Slovak Lipovina ), Muscat lunel (German Yellow Muscatel , Hungarian Sárgamuskotály , sl. Muškát žltý ) and Zéta . As a result, the grapes benefit not only from the dry, hot summers, but also from the long, warm and foggy autumns, which provide ideal growth conditions for the noble rot fungus. In addition, there is the moisturizing effect of the two rivers Bodrog and Tisza (Theiss), which flow through the cultivation area.

  • Furmint is probably an indigenous variety from Hungary. It is mentioned for the first time in Hungary in 1623. So far there is no evidence of its origin, but many assumptions and stories. One of the best known is that the vine was brought to Hungary by Italian immigrants under King Béla IV in the 13th century. Another, somewhat more plausible, explanation is that it was brought along by the Venetian princess Formentini in the 17th century . Today the Furmint represents almost 70% of the vineyards in the Tokaj wine-growing region. Although the must weights that can be achieved annually are high enough to produce wines with an alcohol content of 14 percent by volume or more, the grape variety retains a rather strong acidity. It is this acid in particular that brings the necessary balance to the sweet dessert wine.
  • The Lindenblättriger grape variety brings its fragrance into the blend . In the Tokaj wine-growing region, the variety has a share of almost 25% of the grape variety table.
  • Both main varieties are complemented by the yellow muscatel. The earlier ripening variety is seldom expanded to Tokaji Muscat in Tokaj . Due to its earlier ripeness and its thick berry skin, the nutmeg variety is rarely attacked by noble rot and is consequently included in the dry base wine of Tokaji Aszú. With its typical nutmeg aroma, the variety contributes to the variety of aromas in the blended wine.
  • Zéta is a new breed from Hungary from 1951 from the varieties Furmint and Bouvier . Until 1999 the variety was called Oremus and was named after the famous vineyard in the municipality of Sátoraljaújhely . In order to avoid confusion between location and grape variety, it was decided to rename it. Zéta ripens earlier than the Furmint, but is easily attacked by noble rot. The second cross partner, the Bouvier variety, gave the variety a very subtle nutmeg aroma. The vines, which are more neutral in taste, are used for the Tokaji Aszú wines and, due to the early harvest, minimize the influence of bad weather during the harvest. Good Aszú years are rare, and an average of three good years per decade is expected . Despite its advantages, the planted vineyard area of ​​the variety approved in 1990 is only one percent.
Early stage of Botrytis cinerea : The noble rot naturally concentrates the ingredients of the berries.
Advanced stage of Botrytis cinerea : the stronger the shrinkage, the more concentrated the non-aqueous components of the berries. Basis for classic Tokajers with high must weights.

Viticultural methods

For the winemaking of the Tokaj, noble rotten, raisin-like shriveled grapes are required. That is why the viticultural measures are aimed at promoting the occurrence of Botrytis cinerea in the vineyard. This also requires strict pruning in order to lower the yield and to be able to harvest grapes with high must weights . The harvest takes place very late due to the botrytis shrinkage of the grapes, usually in November. The grapes are laboriously harvested manually in numerous harvesting processes. Noble rot and not noble rot grapes are selected and processed separately.

Expansion of the wine

The tokaj can be made into wine using various manufacturing processes, with a distinction being made between oxidative and reductive expansion depending on the strength of the air contact that the wine experiences during production . This results in different wine styles.

Oxidative expansion

Tokaji Aszú (Tokaj Eruption)

Two components are used to make Aszú: base wine and rotten, raisin-like shriveled grapes.

  • The base wine is made from grapes that have not suffered noble rot. It must have a high natural alcohol content, which stabilizes the wine even without adding sulfur. Fortification and pasteurization have not been permitted since the 1997 Wine Act.
  • Noble rot, shriveled grapes are grapes that consist of berries in which the mold Botrytis cinerea has perforated the berry skin because their cell walls are broken down. In dry weather, water evaporates from the berries and the sugar and acid concentration of the juice increases. At the same time, the ingredients of the grape are changed by the metabolic processes of the fungus. For example, pectins and polyphenols are enzymatically broken down, which also changes the color and aroma of the juice. The deep color tone and the honey-like aroma of a Tokaj can also be traced back to such microbiological processes. The noble rot process of the berries is promoted by a damp summer end, which, depending on the weather, can be followed by four to five sunny autumn weeks. During the harvest, which usually takes place in early November, the rotten grapes are collected and stored in containers. They are then kneaded into a sweet, dough-like mass, which is mixed with the base wine and then mashed for 24-36 hours . This is crucial for the special quality and specialty of a Tokaji Aszú.

The mash is gently pressed and filled into small oak barrels with a capacity of 136.5 liters. A second, very slow fermentation of the base wine now begins , which must last at least three years.

As in the production of Tokaji Szamorodni, Fino Sherry and Vin Jaune , the barrels are only about four fifths filled with wine ("piece holding"), so that a yeast film ( pile ) forms, which largely protects the wine from atmospheric oxygen and the aging process and esterification of the wine.

Puttony is the Hungarian word for handmade paper and stands for tote bags that have a capacity of 25 kg. They are the traditional measure of the amount of noble rotten grapes that are added to a base wine. The number of "Puttony" indicates the ratio between noble rot grapes and base wine. With 6 puttonyos the ratio is about 1: 1. The amount of base wine to which a puttony is added is 136.5 liters and is known as the Gönc barrel (ung. Gönci hordó ), as they were traditionally made in the village of Gönc . The second fermentation is usually followed by storage in wooden barrels. Their duration in years usually corresponds to the number of puttonyok that were added to the base wine. However, due to changes in cellar technology, these times are now often no longer observed and the wine is sold much earlier.

  • three butter (Puttonyos Aszú) = 75 kg of Aszú grapes per 136.5 liters, at least 60 to 90 g / liter of residual sugar
  • four buns = 100 kg of Aszú grapes to 136.5 liters, at least 90 to 120 g / liter of residual sugar
  • five butter = 125 kg of Aszú grapes to 136.5 liters, at least 120 to 150 g / liter of residual sugar
  • six butter = 150 kg of Aszú grapes per 136.5 liters, at least 150 to 180 g / liter of residual sugar
  • seven butter balls = Aszúeszencia, at least 180–250 g / liter of residual sugar

Tokaji Aszúeszencia (Tokaj Eruption Essence)

This is the highest category of Aszú wines. The ratio of dry berries to the base wine is roughly equivalent to a seven-butter Aszú. The residual sugar is usually around 200 g / l, well above the residual sugar content of a six-butted Aszú, but below the 250 g / l prescribed for an Eszencia. Thus, the Aszúeszencia marks the transition from Aszú to Eszencia. In addition to the great sweetness, the Aszúeszencia has a high acidity, the alcohol values ​​are between 12 and 13 percent. The Hungarian wine law requires a ten-year barrel aging followed by five years in bottle before a wine can be marketed as Tokaji Aszúeszencia. The result is very balanced, complex wines that are sold 15 years after their harvest at the earliest. They are only produced in special years and have an almost unlimited shelf life.

Tokaji Eszencia (Tokaj Essence)

After harvesting, Aszú berries are used to make the most extraordinary Tokaj, the Eszencia . In contrast to the Tokaji Aszú and the Aszú Eszencia , the Eszencia is made exclusively from the first run of unpressed dry berries. For this, Aszú grapes are carefully stacked in a container, so that some juice is formed on the bottom of the vessel due to the weight of the grapes alone. This juice has a syrupy consistency, partly reminiscent of honey, with a very high concentration, density, full taste and intense acid structure, which balances the great sweetness. The sugar content must be at least 250 g / l, but for top producers it is often over 600 g / l (over 20 per mille acid). Due to the high, preserving sweetness and acidity, it is very difficult to get fermentation going. It often lasts for several years and only reaches a low alcohol level (approx. 6 percent). From one hectare of vineyards, the average amount harvested by top producers is around 1 liter of essence. It is often bottled in 0.1 l bottles. Tokaji Eszencia tastes so intense that wine connoisseurs can only enjoy it in tiny sips on extraordinary occasions.

Tokaji Forditás and Máslás

Another product is made from the Aszú grapes that have already been pressed, the so-called Forditás 'Wendung' . The grapes are infused again with must and fermentation takes place after a standing time of 12 to 48 hours. The young wine is also stored in wooden barrels for about three years.

If the yeast lees from Tokaj production are poured again with must and fermented again, a generally dry wine is created, which is known as máslás .

Tokaji Szamorodni (Samorodner)

The word Szamorodni 'just as it grew' comes from Polish and describes a Tokaj wine specialty. In contrast to the Aszú, the dry berries are not selected, i. That is, the whole grapes are processed. These consist of berries with and without botrytis fungus, i.e. from shrunken (concentrated) and non-concentrated berries. As with the production of Aszú, the barrels are only filled to about four fifths with wine, so that a yeast film forms under which the wine matures. After two years of barrel aging and then one year of bottle aging, the wine can be marketed.

Szamorodni can, depending on the proportion of dry berries, be both dry ( száraz szamorodni ) and sweet ( édes szamorodni ) in taste, although it is much more difficult to produce a high-quality dry Szamorodni. A sweet Szamorodni contains 50–100 g / l residual sweetness. In a very good vintage, its concentration and intensity can be compared to a three-hat Aszú. Regardless of the degree of sweetness, Szamorodni must have a botrytist tone.

Reductive expansion

Tokaj dry varietal wines

This includes reductively (without air supply) developed white wines, which are produced either as pure varietal wines or as cuvées . Mainly grapes without botrytis infestation are used. The expansion takes place in steel tanks or barriques . They are mainly marketed dry.

Tokaj varietal wines are:

  • Tokaji Furmint
  • Tokaji Hárslevelű (Linden Leaved)
  • Tokaji Muscat (Yellow Muscat)

Late Harvest (késői szüretelésű)

Name for pure varietal sweet wines with intense, concentrated fruit that are only produced in special years. They are either made specifically from Botrytis grapes or deliberately without Botrytis grapes. The expansion takes place reductive. Such specialties are comparable in terms of sweetness gradation as well as their flavor complexity and density (depending on the vintage and must concentration) with a selection to berry selection . The residual sugar content is between 50 and 180 g / l.

Tokaji Cuvée

Top manufacturers such as István Szepsy (a descendant of Szepsi Laczkó Máté) produce high-quality premium wines in some years that are reductive, i.e. not produced according to the Àszu regulations under wine law and are therefore marketed as Tokaji Cuvée.

Wine cellar

Traditional wine cellars in Abaújszántó . These are dug as labyrinth-like, narrow passages deep into the volcanic tuff rock of the mountain. There Tokajer matures in Göncer barrels .

The region's wine cellars are narrow, labyrinthine tunnel systems that have been driven into the volcanic tufa. They are characterized by ideal humidity and a consistently cool temperature of 10 to 12 degrees Celsius, which supports the slow fermentation process in small oak barrels. The walls of the wine cellars and the barrels are covered with the mold Cladosporium cellare . It is a soft and dry mushroom that feeds on the alcohol that evaporates from the wine barrels. Due to the mold, a microclimate forms in the cellar during the vinification and barrel aging of the wine, which gives Tokaj wines a special expression.

Well-known wineries

Well-known manufacturers are (in alphabetical order): Árvay Pince (Tokaj), Disznókő Szőlőbirtok és Pincészet ( Tokaj ), Kiralyudvar ( Tarcal ), Tokaj Oremus ( Tolcsva ), Château Pajzos ( Sárospatak ), Tokaj Pendits (certified Bioweingut (Demeter) Abaújszántó ) , Royal Tokaji Wine Company (Mád) and István Szepsy ( Mád ).

Special vintages

Wine connoisseurs consider the following outstanding vintages: 1811, 1834, 1885, 1889, 1900, 1912, 1924, 1937, 1945, 1947, 1952, 1957, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1983, 1993, 1999, 2000.

Protection of the term "Tokaj"

The European Union protects the term “Tokaj” as a geographical indication which is reserved exclusively for wines produced in the Tokaj wine-growing region. This means that all linguistic forms, homonyms , translations or identical geographical indications derived from the name “Tokaj” are protected. Therefore, wines that were produced in Italy and France after March 31, 2007 are no longer allowed to use the Tocai or Tokay designation. So must Tokay d'Alsace as a synonym of Pinot Gris wine region Alsace no longer be used and the vine variety designation 'Tocai Friulano has the addition Tocai be waived. This name protection applies not only to members of the European Union, but also to wine agreements between the EU and third countries. For example, Australia is not allowed to sell wines with the term “Tokay” in the EU.

literature

  • Michael Broadbent : Great wines. Notes from 50 years on wines from three centuries. Hallwag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7742-6345-0 .
  • László Alkonyi: Tokaj. The Wine of Freedom. A Szabadság Bora (= Borbarát. 1). Spread Bt., Budapest 2000, ISBN 963-00-3926-5 .
  • Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon. 2nd, completely revised edition. Hallwag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7742-0914-6 .
  • József Szabó, István Török: Tokaj-Hegyaljai Album. Emich Gusztáv, Pest 1867, (reprint: Az Allami Könyvterjesztö Vállalat, Budapest 1984).

Web links

Commons : Tokajer  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Tokajer  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Horst Dippel : The wine dictionary. 4th edition, Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 468 f.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Michael Broadbent: Great wines. Notes from 50 years on wines from three centuries. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 489.
  3. ↑ a b c Report from the Commission to the Council on Tokajers of December 19, 2006 on the basis of Regulation (EC) No. 753/2002 on the exclusive protection of the geographical indication "Tokaj". (PDF)
  4. ↑ A névért perelnék az uniót a tokaji gazdák. In: Népszabadság . August 2, 2008, accessed January 9, 2010 (Hungarian).
  5. ↑ a b c Michael Broadbent: Great wines. Notes from 50 years on wines from three centuries. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2004, pp. 489, 498.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Jancis Robinson: The Oxford Wine Lexicon. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2003, p. 739.
  7. ↑ a b c Chronology of the wine region. Tokaj Renaissance Association website ( July 11, 2010 memento in Internet Archive ), accessed May 21, 2010.
  8. ↑ a b Claudia Becker: The Tokay before the end. In: The world . July 12, 2007, accessed January 9, 2010 .
  9. ^ Walter Büchi: Tokajer . Ed .: NZZ. NZZ nos. 233 and 245 from 1977. Zurich 1977.
  10. ↑ Michael Broadbent: Great wines. Notes from 50 years on wines from three centuries. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 495.
  11. ↑ Jancis Robinson: The Oxford Wine Lexicon. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2003, p. 739 f.
  12. ↑ Helmut Hans Dittrich, Manfred Großmann: Microbiology of Wine. 3rd edition, Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2005, pp. 191-200.
  13. ↑ Jancis Robinson: The Oxford Wine Lexicon. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2003, p. 740.
  14. ↑ a b Horst Dippel: The wine dictionary. 4th edition, Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 457.
  15. ↑ Michael Broadbent: Great wines. Notes from 50 years on wines from three centuries. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 490.
  16. ↑ Horst Dippel: The wine dictionary. 4th edition, Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 167 f.
  17. ↑ a b c d e f Overview of Tokaj wine specialties. Tokaj Renaissance Association website ( July 11, 2010 memento in Internet Archive ), accessed May 21, 2010.
  18. ^ Hugh Johnson: Hugh Johnson's Wine Story. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2005, pp. 125–127.
  19. ↑ Jancis Robinson: The Oxford Wine Lexicon. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2003, p. 741.