Dr_Tannin
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2498
 | | 12/13/2002 3:20 AM |
| Had this tonight. Hungarian wines remain a mystery for many, including me, but the quality level can be mind boggling and like Austrian wines, many very good wines sell at reasonable prices.
Tokaj is a town in Northeast Hungary near the Bodrog and Tisza rivers. As in Burgenland, fall mists promote "noble rot" fungal botrytization on local grapes, concentrating and altering the grape juice inside. These grapes are primarily the Furmint,deriving from the Latin Fromentum (wheat), and also the Harslevlu, or "lime"leaf deriving from its' shape; and occasional yellow Muscat, and hybrid Zeta. Chardonnay is grown too but not considered inthese wines.
Tokaji (add suffix -i)wines are not Tokay, but simply wines from the area around the town eg St. Emilion and can be dry or even red though most are whites.
Wine from these grapes picked later in the harvest, some botrytized some not, but still in the clusters is called "Szamarodni" or as it comes, and varies between dry and sweet.
Asza are the nobly rotted grapes, Aszu the juice from these. When the botrytized grapes are collected, molded into a putty-like mash, and added to the base nonbotrytized wine and must already in barrel, then steeped, stirred, pressed, and the juice collected, the concoction is already quite sweet. Allowed to ferment incompletely with local hardy yeasts tolerant of high alcohol, the juice is kept in barrel usually 3-4 years to allow optimal fermentation. Puttony or wicker tub-like hods of this mash used to be a gross measure of the degree of potential sweetness, and when added could number 3-6. When botrytis was prolific, at 7 or 8 puttonyos, all the juice essentially derived from the Aszu portion and this was called Aszu Eszencia (the essence of Asza).Today puttonyos are no longer used, but relative sugar contents of the base and rotted mash proportions estimated. Aszu by definiton must ferment two years in barrel, one in bottle. If not managed well, these can become maderized wines.
Disznoko, is one of several international second category (buy and grows own grapes) producers of Aszu Tokaji. They are owned by AZA and starting with 1990, after the removal of the oppressive Communist regimes, have led the industry's attempt to return to historical 'glory"days. The superb 1993 vintage and excellent 1995 have helped this winery rise to the upper tier of producers. Recent vintages, eg 1999, 2000, which won't be available for 3-4 years are purportedly also stellar. Tsunami on WS board has posted his ratings of these vintages for Aszu.
Now the wine. 5 puttonyos.WS-94 pts. $26.00 (500ml)
Color: amber to burnt sierra; slow thin legs.
Aroma: olde English marmalade, clementine, toasted wood.
Flavor:Orange peel with hint o lemon, burnt toast, and caramel. There is plenty of acidity to bolster the residual sugar. A slightly tangy finish tickles the tongue in a moderately long finish. 92 pts. QPR=A-
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13711
| | 12/13/2002 4:02 AM |
| As Dr. T already knows, he turned me on to this stuff about 3 months ago. This stuff is really, really good. And it can be, and almost should be, served all by itself. It is a showcase unto itself.
I am not a stickies-master, but this is great stuff. I'd rate it a point higher, I think -- 93... | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Albino
Grape Picker
Posts:6
| | 03/23/2003 1:55 AM |
| owned by AXA  | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13711
| | 03/24/2003 1:35 AM |
| HEY! Nice to see you around here, tsunami master!  | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13711
| | 04/12/2003 4:48 PM |
| I had this again at the 3/29/03 DC offline at Equinox, and once more last night with friends (where I got a bigger, better, longer taste). This is a super wine. I am very glad I can still find this locally. It's luscious.
I agree totally with Dr.T's TNs, except I also got some medium toffee notes on this as well. This wine pours slightly thickly, but, as Dr. T pointed out, the acidity keeps it remarkably fresh and lighter than you'd expect.
One weird experiement we tried was having a tiny piece of nice white chocolate with this just to see how it'd pair. It was unexpectedly pretty good.
I still stand by my 93 point rating. Delish!  | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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ttepper
Barrel Filler
Posts:1312
| | 04/13/2003 4:44 AM |
| | TJ, if you can, can you pick up a bottle of this for me? Dont go out of your way...thanks. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13711
| | 04/13/2003 4:09 PM |
| | Sure thing, ttepper. I was tempted to clean out my local source the other day, but didn't. I think they have a few bottles left so next time I am there, I'll pick up an extra for ya. | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Corkage
Grape Puncher
Posts:975
| | 11/03/2003 7:25 PM |
| | I've had the 5 puttonyos on at least 3 occaisons and agree with the notes above. Over the weekend we got to try the 5 and 6 puttonyos (also 1993). The 6-P was darker and richer with a longer finish. Side by side the 5-P, the 6-P showed more elegance and complexity. Both were a treat. | | | |
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mountainman
Mammoth Mountain
Wine Bottler
Posts:3163
| | 11/27/2003 12:28 AM |
| | I have the '95 of this standing up for dessert (hazelnut torte) tomorrow. Never had one, looking forward to it. | | | |
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Wineaux
New Orleans, LA
Barrel Filler
Posts:1414
| | 12/19/2003 4:08 PM |
| | This may not be the proper place to ask, but once opened, how long will these wines last? What's the best method for storing them once opened? | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 12/19/2003 5:33 PM |
| | According to Broadbent, these last a long time once opened, the sweeter ones lasting longer. I'd cork it and refrigerate it. If you have a smaller bottle that will allow less air, use that. I've done this with great success with a '64 Essencia. | | | |
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NorCalVinoLover
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2202
| | 12/19/2003 5:36 PM |
| I have a Dessert Wine Tasting Party coming up in a couple of weeks and this sounds like just the wine to bring. Interesting enough and hopefuly nobody else will bring it. So where do you find it?
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 12/19/2003 7:34 PM |
| | The 1993 Disznokos get pretty wide distribution. I've seen them in a number of places and I bought 6 puttonyos and Essencia for my cellar. They're probably in a couple of stores in your area. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 12/19/2003 9:40 PM |
| | NCVL www.wine-searcher.com is your friend. If you haven't purchased the "professional" option do so. Things like you are looking for are what this site is made for, especially the paid for part. The subscription may pay for itself with just one purchase (not affiliated with wine-searcher.com, just a very satisified customer). | | | |
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Wineaux
New Orleans, LA
Barrel Filler
Posts:1414
| | 12/20/2003 3:16 AM |
| | You really think its worth the coin? The prices and inventory shown are really that accurate? I've been thinking about signing up for a while. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 12/20/2003 3:39 AM |
| | If you are purchasing expensive wines (say over $100/bottle) or hard to find wines then heck yes it is worth the coin. Look at it this way, if with the professional version you find a place which has a wine you are looking for that is $10 less than the price with the free version and you purchase three and save $30 you have just paid for the subscription. There are some keys to using the service, like looking at the "last update" field to see if it is recent. Most of the places you can also give a call to check on things. My work is internet based and www.wine-searcher.com is the only site I have ever paid to use. | | | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts:9257
| | 12/20/2003 5:20 PM |
| I agree fully with skwid, wine-searcher.com is worth every penny - I cannot tell you how much $$ I've saved (or put another way maybe, how much $$ I've spent that I otherwise wouldn't have ). It is worth the coin not only for bottles over $100, but the entire spectrum of price ranges imo. The content is only as accurate as what the retailers provide, but I've found it to be mostly right on. | | | |
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Wineaux
New Orleans, LA
Barrel Filler
Posts:1414
| | 12/21/2003 2:51 AM |
| | OK, you've convinced me. Thanks. | | | |
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NorCalVinoLover
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2202
| | 12/23/2003 3:04 AM |
| same here...... Thanks for all the help
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ChangeMe
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2042
| | 04/28/2005 1:53 PM |
| | Dr. T brought this to our offline last night. I was surprised at how crisp and "apple cidery" it was. Definitely not an overly sweet dessert wine. | | | |
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