Region · Tokaj, Hungary
Tokaj
TOH-kye
Aszú, dry Furmint, volcanic hills
Hungary's historic sweet-wine region, rebuilt after communism as both a dessert legend and a dry white frontier.
- honey
- orange peel
- smoke
- quince
- saffron
Aszú berries are botrytised, picked berry by berry, and macerated into a base wine. Puttonyos once ranked sweetness; modern labels use residual sugar. The wines last generations.
Dry Furmint from volcanic soils is the current excitement: smoke, apple, and electric acid. Szamorodni sits between dry and sweet.
Foie gras, blue cheese, and — for dry — river fish.
At the table
Service
Dry 48–52 °F (9–11 °C); aszú 50–54 °F (10–12 °C).
