Szepsy End of 2008

Szepsy Furmint 2006
Straw yellow colour, stunning ripe and fabulous nose, deep yet elegant full of tropical mango, pine apple, passion fruit, and quince baked apple pie. Dry with a rather good acidity and minerality to it, stone fruit, passion fruit notes, soft finish. Did it go through some MLF, likely? It does have an idea of nutty and leesiness at the end.

Urbán Furmint 2006
Light golden colour, pronounced stone fruit and mineral, lees notes. Minerality is more in the lime light, comes from zeolit and red clay soil. Complex yet charming. Dry, good zip, ripe apple, pear, grape fruit, long finish with good mineral spice to it. Complex wine, look out.

Szent Tamás 2006, plot/block 46 vine
Good straw yellow colour, ripe fruit with an earthy mineral touch. Fire stone in the background yet full fruit from the beginning on. Complex, flint with some creamy notes. Dry, lemon, citrus fruit, fresh ripe apple, fine and precise acidity. Crisp citrus, soft finish yet with a long go on all sides. High notes, a real Grand Cru Furmint.

Birtok Furmint 2007
The Estate Furmint. Good colour, bold on the nose quite pronounced with a creamy, tobacco, perfume and stone fruit. Dry, full bodied, powerful, ripe apple notes with mango and tropical fruit back up. Stylish it does have a slight bitter finish to it with some spicy minerality.

Hárslevelű Király Dűlő 2007
Fairly deep golden colour, this wine is little about the Hárslevelű varietal (lime tree /linden leaf) but it’s more about the Király dűlő single vineyard, “growth”. Notes of lees, and spicy, flint, hint of gun powder on the nose. Dry, high in alcohol, the soil is dominant it even suppresses the usually so strong varietal character of the grape. Minerality on the „cube“.

Szepsy Cuvée 2006
Good deep colour, pronounced nose, more than a late harvest botrytis sweet wine. There is a lot of complexity and serious notes of stone fruit, spice and minerality in the wine. Great food wine, a superb all-rounder with spicy dishes. It will stand against it, no doubt. Fantastic wine.

Szamorodni 2006 (sweet)
Deep straw yellow colour, ripe tropical fruit, good-clean botrytis from the beginning. Quite pronounced. 116 g/l residual sugar, bit juicy lemon notes. Sweet –better combo on the palate, high alcohol, dense and lovely structure, rich and long concentrated finish yet elegant.

6 puttonyos Aszú 2005
Deep golden colour, with orange peel spice, minerality, clean and fantastically pronounced botrytis. Mango, lemon peel, superbly sweet on the palate marzipan and mint leaves, gorgeous and very long finish. Still a baby, the wine is a great journey and so is the person who goes with it…

6 puttonyos Aszú 2003
Deep golden colour, superbly dense botrytis yet fantastic finesse and elegance beside the truck load of tropical fruit. Concentrated. 10 g/l TA, 230 g/l RS, gorgeous concentration, great acidity shows precision yet with plenty of weight. Balanced in all means, dense with great intensity, superb character, very long finish. Awesome wine!

Szepsy 09/09/2009

Szepsy Birtok Furmint 2007
The estate Furmint, comes from 9 different vineyard sites. Pale straw yellow colour, with some leesy tropical fruit well pronounced picture on the nose. Quite intense and very ripe fruit. Gone through malolactic probably, hints of tobacco, vanilla, mineral and superb clean fruit. Mango, pineapple, ripe apple.
Dry, good acidity, well balanced, ripe fruit from low yields –this is very important. Good drive, great spice and mineral notes with the ripeness of apple and tropical notes. Good finish, a great Furmint.

Szepsy Nyulaszo 2007 Furmint
Light golden colour, mineral spice on the nose, ripe fruit but less pronounced intensity then the blended vineyard wine (Birtok/Estate) Furmint, less focus on ripe fruit more on the soil and minerality. Hint of flint, elegant citrus ripe fruit. Dry, very good acidity, soft spicy mineral intensity, great layers and a complex wine indeed. There is some vivid attack of the acidity and spicy minerality involved but in the background ripe fruit. Hint of mushroom, earthiness and passion notes too, but more soil, finesse and elegance.

Szamorodni Sweet 2006
Good clear golden colour, superb dense botrytis with a spicy tropical tune. Mango, apple jelly, pineapple, quince. Sweet, quite high alcohol feel (14% ABV), fairly crisp acidity, fine clean botrytis, good mouth feel, not too long but consistent with a spice, caramel, toffee over tone.

10,11/09/2009

Béres Furmint 2007, Tokaj
We tasted this wine blind with my mentor Robert Cey-Bert in the Vinagoras wine competition „tent“. Medium straw yellow colour, ripe buttery, stone fruit almost tropical character on the nose, but very oaky indeed. Attractive minerality, the terroir is trying to come thru, but the oak surpresses it, intial though Tokaj second guess, oaky Chardonnay. The first tought was right, but the oak impact is just wrong. It has weight and density, but looses character and elegance.

Balassa Furmint Mézes-Mály Tokaj 2008
Light straw yellow colour, the nose has a certain mellow effect; don’t really know whether it’s gone thru total MLF, ripe apple and lemon peel, hint of spice from the soil. Youngish, dry and good, crisp acidity on the palate. The wine is his youth…

Balassa Furmint Mézes-Mály Tokaj 2006
Good straw yellow colour with ripe pear and stone fruit on the nose. Dry, vibrant acidity there is something of the soil in there a good expression of terroir, hint of spice and stone fruit. Ripe character, good finish. Soft and mellow thru. Fermented and aged in barrel for 8 months.

Babits Tokaji Furmint 2007
Light oxidative notes, some almond hint of yeast on the nose. 22° must degree at picking; spend over a year in barrel (old 220l-240l). Dry, crisp acidity – quite high actually there is a hint of wood attack, more tannin going on –fills the palate less oxidative note on the palate then on the nose.

02/11/2009

Alana Tokaji Furmint 2006
Took 2 years to ferment (!) in barrels. Golden colour, lot of different combination of apple on the nose, with a blossom and grapefruit in hot pursuit. Complex nose. Dry, good acidity, refreshing, hint of almond, vanilla on the palate yet with zinginess. No MLF, good body and complex notes, fine finish.

Alana Tokaji Hárslevelü (dry) 2005
Attila Gábor Németh is the wine maker (he is also in charge with the NAG Estate in Gyöngyös, Mátralja wine region). Medium golden colour, with a bright honey, ripe fruit, pear, peach on the nose. Dry, good acidity, soft mid palate and a slightly bitter finish. Ripe fruit in the middle and between, a very interesting, I reckon you could call it a great dry Hárslevelü, yes why not?! Attila was explaining this and also the Furmint fermented for 2 years, quite amazing. Came down from just above 15% to around 14%. There is 20% aszú (shrivelled, botryitized grapes)-slight bitterness coming from here, perhaps. The harvest happened in November. Did he first finish his harvest in the Mátra region first and then rushed over to Tokaj (not too far from each other). Sort of just happen like this, 2 years in 225 l barrels (old), battonage happened, fermentation on low temperature.

Alana Autumn in Tokaj (LH Cuvée) 2006
Good golden colour, soft fresh – young tropical fruit on the nose. Nice, botrytis, gentle sweetness and a good freshness, balanced. Fine late harvest.

Alana Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2005
Golden colour, spice and herbal notes. Hint of mint, citrus fruit and peach. Lovely touch of sweetness, there is certain coolness in the aszu wine yet very elegant but still a baby. Great acidity and balanced with the sweetness, round and with good finesse.

Béres Tokaji Sárgamuskotály (Muscat Lunel) 2007
Pale colour, with a light floral touch on the nose. Pretty indeed. Dry, crisp, floral – lemon fruit combination, simple yet elegant, it finishes in a nice way, pleasant.

Béres Tokaji Furmint Löcse (dry) 2007
It was one of the older vintages of the Béres family which put them on the map of making serious dry Furmint, varietal wines. It was a benchmark production and ever since I do look out for the wineries dry Löcse Furmint. Pale straw yellow colour, hint of stone fruit with a touch of creaminess, vanilla on the nose. Dry, hint of creaminess on the palate, good acidity and minerality, yet something disturbing the picture or not quite there. Slight bitter finish (due to the alcohol, or tannins from the wood?!). Correct wine, but not quite there.

Béres Tokaji Szamorodni (dry) 2003
Light golden colour, medium intense on the nose, with a light touch of almond, nuttiness, whiff of salt. Soft stone fruit aromas, good acidity, medium long finish.

Béres Tokaji Magita Cuvée 2007
Be named after the beautiful girl who lived during the Ottoman occupation in Erdöbénye and saved the people of the region by sacrificing her own life.
Blend of three varieties, Furmint providing the weight and backbone, Hárslevelü the elegance and bouquet and Kövérszölö the spiciness. Light golden colour, ripe nose aromas of stone fruit and botrytis notes. Sweet on the palate, clean and crisp, but with the elegance and finesse on the finish. Not too heavy, a rather effortless beauty of late harvest botrytis wine with not much if any oak impact.

Béres Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2005
Clear, light golden colour, tropical fruit with a fresh attack on the nose. Fairly pronounced but not too heavy. Good kick of sweetness, fabulous, round, tropical fruit with a hint of spice, anise, and complex. It has weight, but it’s still effortless, not weak though, but finely balanced, great acidity. 10% ABV, 170 g/l RS, 9,1 g/l TA.

Bodvin Tokaji FurmintBetsek (dry) 2007
Gábor Orosz the wine maker, he releases under his own name just single vineyard wines as he explained to me. He pointed out that it’s a very complex task to make a dry wine. Get the acidity right, if it’s over ripe oxidation can play a major role. Not just the sugar contact but also the phenolic ripeness is very crucial. Pale straw yellow colour, green apple on the nose with a hint of minerality. Dry, crisp, soft touch, ripe fruit beside apple, plenty of citrus touch, nice to drink the minerality adds to the complexity.

Bodvin Király Hárslevelü 2007 (dry)
Straw yellow colour, cool and soft nose with a hint of pear and citrus, lime fruit. Dry, crisp, soft ripe density.

Bodvin Cuvée 2007
Light golden colour, soft and gentle on the nose with a fresh fruity, light botrytis character. Soft sweetness and ripe fruit, good balance and harmony between sweetness and acidity. Gábor says to me the its around 4,60€, ex-cellar. Very good price indeed.

Bodvin Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2003
Deep golden colour turning into amber. Ripe fruit on the nose with a touch of spice and minerality. Dried fruit attack on the nose, pronounced indeed. Great concentration of sweetness, very deep, lush hint of smoke, good acidity, dried fruit, fig, prune, sultana. Very rich, high sweetness tune, but very well balanced, by all means. 10,5%ABV, 215 g/l RS, 8,1 g/l TA.
The vintage was difficult as Gábor said, 100 kg aszú berries 90 l of must, 36 hours of maceration at 15°C. 220 l, Zemplén (Hungarian) cask, up to 3rd use.

Bodvin Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2000
Light amber colour, lush sweetness on the nose, very ripe indeed, good hint of spice and dried fruit with herbs. Fullish on the palate, acidity very elegant and counterbalancing the power and weight of the sweetness coming thru, marmalade, fig, prune, awesome jam structure all the way to the finish. Nice one, really, nice one!

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Dry 2006
Pale straw yellow colour, crisp on the nose, 80% Furmint the rest Muscat Lunel, dry, crisp acidity a very refreshing wine with certain steeliness and precision to it. Drink well, under screw cap.
Just a quick note on a grape variety which they don’t have with them but sort of re-introducing to the wine region, the almost forgotten Kabar! Very good effort to Dereszla.

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Napos 2008
50-50 Muscat Lunel and Furmint, napos meaning sunny. More floral then the previous one, elegant medium intense nose. Blossom and fruit drops, like pear, kicks of with some sweetness on the palate as Patrick is telling me apparently 15 g/l RS, nice and round very easy going, everyday drinking wine. Good acidity, light complex floral and fruit notes, very good food wine as well.

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Aszú 3 Puttonyos 2005
Golden colour, ripe from the beginning on the nose, lush sweet fruit, spice and a hint of almond beside the orange peel character. Fantastic raciness, counter balanced with the sweetness. A very nice wine without being too sweet, cloying but very fresh and a great food wine (not necessarily desserts, but think spicy dishes). As Patrick said it would be a shame not to have the 3 puttonyos wines any more. Frankly, I believe so too, it just adds to the diversity and it’s a great compliment – almost as you could have a dinner menu based around just Tokaj from dry to the sweet and in the middle the less sweet but still complex 3, 4 puttonyos wines.

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2003
Deep golden colour, light amber with a great nose. Hint of nuttiness and almond beside the dried fruit, fig and prune. Kicks off with a great sweetness but immediately after the first second the vibration comes to hand, very nice acidity, complex fruit and spice notes, long finish.

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Aszú Esszencia Imperium 2000
Deep golden colour, light amber. Candy, caramel, honey with a touch of herbal, spice notes. Some mint, ethereal nose but full of dried fruit at the same time. Fig, prune, very complex. Great concentration, tangy, great acidity, finishes with a smoky honey (evolution) note, superb concentration and long length. The label is quite “funky” but it has serious history, goes back to the Russian Imperial court.
10,4 % ABV, 250 g/l RS, 9,2 g/l TA

Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Furmint Reserve (dry) 2007
Good straw yellow colour, green apple, pear on the nose a hint of juicy quince as well. Dry, touch of almond on the palate, ripe apple and pear, quite ripe but also fresh, good acidity and fruit. Nice.

Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2002
Deep colour, into amber, spice and a lush sweetness on the nose. Reminds me a bit of more “old school”, on the palate, great acidity, touch of almond and nuttiness while the wine shows good density and lovely sweetness till the end.

Sauska Tokaji Furmint (dry) 2008
Pale straw yellow colour, light floral nose with a crisp start on the palate. Hint of green apple and quite high acidity.

Sauska Zempléni Chardonnay 2008
As you are by law not entitled to use certain “illegal” grape varieties, like Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc (see below notes) you do have to declassify it as “Zempléni” for instance. And as my notes show, quite right so, it is simply not Tokaji, no sign for real terroir!
Light golden colour, leesy nose in hot pursuit with toffee, light caramel. Dry, crisp on the palate without any further complexity. Simple. Why Chardonnay?

Sauska Zempléni Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Straw yellow colour with a hint of greenness. Grassy and floral notes, herbaceous, slightly green almost overt. Indicating under ripeness or bad canopy management. Dry, crisp not much else though, simple finish.

Sauska Tokaji Sweet Life Cuvée 2003
Golden colour, with a hint of spice and evolution on the nose. Basil, herbs. Fine sweetness on the start, good acidity, true signs of development, toffee, caramel, dried fruit, soft sweetness on the end.

Sauska Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2003
Deep colour, pronounced nose, fig, prune rich and dense. Good density, and sweetness level, great acidity, fig and prune complex notes of dried fruit hint of spice as well. Very elegant and well balanced wine, with a long finish.

Sauska Tokaji Aszú Esszencia 2003
Apparently Aszú Esszencia will be not made anymore (the so called 7 puttonyos if you like). From 6 puttonyos is goes up straight to Esszencia, and that’s the end of the line. Yet in the middle and between for the moment we shall enjoy the Aszú Esszencia.
Deep colour, lush botrytis full nose, fantastic tropical, dried fruit, spice notes on the nose. Very pronounced, what is great on this wine is the fantastic balance, sweetness vs. acidity, just a great spectacle for the senses. Very good finish and complex notes.

Gróf (Count/Countess) Degenfeld
Tokaji Furmint (dry) 2008
Pale lemon green colour, slightly closed-mute nose. Dry, crisp and simple start till the finish, some green apple, every day drinking, correct Furmint. The winery turned biodynamic, as Countess Degenfeld told me, they using their own humus for fertilizing.

Gróf Degenfeld Tokaji Muscal Lunel 2008 (semi-dry)
One of the best sellers in Hungary. Lemon green colour, pale. Floral, light perfume on the nose, very gentle perfume. Off-dry with just around 12 g/l RS a nice sweetness to the crispness. Floral elegant wine. Gentle finish.

Gróf Degenfeld Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2003
Good, deep colour, full of honey, almond, prune, fig a tune of spice is coming through as well. Lush sweetness and good acidity with a very good density, superb finish.

Gróf Degenfeld Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2004
Golden colour, orange peel, spice, ripe tropical fruit on the nose. Effortless, zingy, light floral touch, superb density with a hint of toffee yet fresh as a daisy, lovely density firm on the finish. An attractive aszu. 100% Hárslevelü, base wine used for maceration.

Andante Furmint Botrytised 2007
Straw yellow colour, fresh jam and marmalade on the nose, good botrytis notes whiff of passion fruit. Good sweetness, with good acidity, 212 g/l RS, just over 1 year time in the barrel. As Countess Maria Degenfeld told me, we looking around 12,50 € ex cellar price, good value for such a high sweetness level, indeed.

Disznókö Tokaji Furmint (dry) 2007
Round, soft fruit notes, peach, green apple yet juicy. Dry, bold fruit, round nice to enjoy, crisp acidity. Nice.

Disznókö Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2000
Deep colour, fig, prune complex notes with passion fruit on the nose. Lovely clean botrytis, good concentration, supple sweetness on the palate, long finish and spice with good density.

Disznókö Tokaji 6 Puttonyos 2000
Deep colour, pronounced nose, passion fruit, mango, pineapple with a hint of spiciness. Complex notes on the nose. Fabulous density from the start, passion fruit, mango, lush. Some spicy notes in the background, great acidity, soft finish, long and complex wine.

Disznókö Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 1999
Deep colour, amber, lush pronounced nose full of marzipan and toffee. There is a certain development going on in the wine (nose). Orange peel, spice, complex herbal notes, basil, anis, blackcurrant leaf. Hint of vegetal attributes too. Good concentration full of sweetness, fantastic acidity zipping through, great density and balance on the finish.

Dobogó Tokaji Furmint 2007 (dry)
Straw yellow colour, soft pear with a hint of mint and light spicy nose. Interesting dry Furmint with complex notes, shows skills. Dry, crisp, light almond, good structure, slightly vanilla tune, shouldn’t be more then this. Promising wine, a sort of serious Furmint.

Dobogó Lumiere 2007
From the lux- ray, sun ray, it was the name of Izabella´s parrot. Floral, elegant light on the nose. Soft sweetness, more then off-dry, the acidity appreciates the residual sugar. Elegant structure. Muscal Lunel with 30 g/l RS, funky wine.
We discussed with Izabella the Pinot Noir, which they actually just started doing at the estate. I personally have yet to try it, but my first response is despite being the region had some red grapes in the past, the focus should be making aszú wines and dry wines from the given varietals (Furmint, Hárslevelü, etc…). By focus I mean to master this at its best, there is always room for improvement…

Dobogó Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2004
Golden colour, lovely rich nose, very pronounced. Full on tropical and ripe stone fruit aromas. Rich spice, full side, juicy, botrytis impact very good. Good acidity, sweet and lovely, rich density on the palate, beside the complex notes of tropical fruit, superb acidity, there is a touch of spice and perhaps looking behind the lush sweetness, minerality as well. Long finish, very good indeed. Serious wine.

Dobogó Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2003
Deep colour, spice and orange peel, juicy mandarin, mango. Hint of minerality beside the ripe fruit (touch of flint). Great concentration on the palate, superb sweetness, ripe and dried fruit. With plenty of comfiture, marmalade and jam character. Acidity is still vibrant and density is good and finishes long with a fabulous structure. 70% Furmint (aszú berries), 160 g/l RS, 8,5 g/l TA

Patricius Tokaji Furmint (dry) 2008
Pale straw yellow colour. Blended from different single vineyard sites. Dry, crisp, lime fruit gentle green apple, hint of peach, touch of leesiness, crisp finish.

Patricius Tokaji Aszú 5 puttonyos 2002
Golden colour, great botrytis, tropical freshness to it, youngster, rich. Good sweetness, lush ripe fruit, tropical, mango, passion fruit hint of smoke and spice. Good botrytis and good acidity, perfect balance, harmony, good density. 11,4% ABV, 150 g/l RS, 5,4g/l TA.

Patricius Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2000 “Bendecz”
The winery prefers rather 220 l barrels, as Péter Molnár manager was saying, the wines matures (or oxidation is quicker) faster in the 136 l barrel, due to the surface ratio to wine.
Deep colour, rich and full nose, finely tuned fruit, dried plum, fig, hint of spice and jaminess. Elegant sweetness right from the beginning, superb acidity, very fresh and very alive, elegant, effortless, great balance by all means. Complex notes and long finish.

Pendits Tokaji Muscat (dry) organic 2008
Floral peach and gentle nose. Dry, crisp, very refreshing, slightly aggressive sparkle effect on the palate, especially on the finish. Floral, blossom. Bottled under screw cap.

Pendits Tokaji Furmint 2006 (dry)
Very blossom and green apple, flower like on the nose. Gentle fruit on the palate, dry, floral, crisp apple hint of juiciness on the finish.

Pendits Tokaji Late Harvest Furmint 2007
Pale straw yellow colour, light on the nose, not much density. Light sweetness on the palate, soft ripe fruit base, fruity, pear drops and a soft fruit salad like contributions to the flavours profile. Fairly simple, pear, apricot finish.

Royal – Tokaji, Tokaji Furmint (dry) 2007
Bold apple, bright, ripe fruit notes. Pear, peach. Nice on the nose, there is also a hint of tropicalness too. Dry, just on the edge with around 6 g/l RS (by law probably everything under 9 is dry), yet it looks attractive, ripe, pear, nice and full, fairly high in alcohol.

Royal-Tokaji, Tokaji Aszú Mézes Mály 6 puttonyos 1999
Deep golden colour, light amber. Rich and bright nose. Marmalade, jam with a cool breeze and spice added to it. Sweet on the palate, but there is a slight bitter tune in as well on the mid palate. Finishes of with a ripe, lush botrytis fruit and marzipan character. Dense structure, full very nice indeed. 9% ABV, 235 g/l RS, 12,9 g/l TA.

Samuel Tinon Tokaji Dry Szamorodni 2003
Pale golden colour, a lot of activity from the yeast, almond, acetaldehyde notes on the nose. Dry, bit lean, and short on the mid palate, but it finishes of with a light nutty, almond and floral touch. Good acidity, high in alcohol, ages for 8 years, hint of tannin too. It lost 0,5% ABV / year.

Samuel Tinon Tokaji Sweet Szamorodni 2004
Light golden colour (?), soft jamy marmalade, and light touch of caramel on the nose. Sweet, good acidity, hint of almond, alcohol feels a bit high on the mid palate. Good finish.

Samuel Tinon Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2004
Light golden colour, nutty, almond and fig on the nose, beside some tropical fruit. Good sweetness, good acidity, soft almond, touch of nuttiness yet a round and gentle aszú wine.

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