Royal Tokaji Blue Label 5 Puttonyos Aszu 50cl

Product Information

Royal Tokaji was founded in 1990 by well-known author Hugh Johnson and a small group of investors who were inspired to restore and preserve Hungary’s precious wine legacy after the fall of Communism. Tokaji is the world’s original sweet white wine – the “cult wine” of the 18th and 19th centuries – and the Tokaj wine region was the first to have classified vineyards. At the end of the 17th century, Prince Rakoczi classified the finest vineyards into: great first growths, first growths, second growths and third growths. Royal Tokaji owns five of those first and second growth vineyards, including one of Hungary’s two great first growths: Mézes Mály. The Aszú berries are macerated with the must for approximately 48 hours. The ratio of must to Aszú berries dictates the level of sweetness. The blend, now “Tokaji Aszú” is run off into stainless steel tanks or oak casks and fermented until it reaches the final balance. Since the collapse of the communist regimes in 1990, a number of independent wineries have been established in the Tokaj wine region. A state-owned producer continues to exist and handles approximately 20% of the overall production. The concentration of aszú was traditionally defined by the number of puttony of dough added to a Gönc cask (136 liter barrel) of must. [6] Nowadays the puttony number is based on the content of sugar and sugar-free extract in the mature wine. Aszú ranges from 3 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos, with a further category called Aszú-Eszencia representing wines above 6 puttonyos. Unlike most other wines, alcohol content of aszú typically runs higher than 14%. Annual production of aszú is less than one percent of the region's total output. We are a small company and it is important for us to have service staff who are aware of our wines. Being a small business, we like to do things a little differently compared to the bigger wine brands, so it is crucial to us for service staff to have awareness and be personable. That’s why we give them the opportunity to come out to Tokaji and find out more about our company and our wines.

In chapter four of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of the Four (1890), Thaddeus Sholto offers Miss Morstan Chianti or Tokay, as the only two refreshments he had on hand.The original meaning of the Hungarian word aszú was "dried", but the term aszú came to be associated with the type of wine made with botrytised (i.e. "nobly" rotten) grapes. The process of making Aszú wine is as follows:

Tokaj aszú has always had a fan club that has included royalty, artists, and popes. The wine made its way to the capitals and palaces of Europe long before there were advertising campaigns and marketing slogans to spread the word. Tokaj’s most glorious period was between the 17thand 19thcenturies, when the region’s wines were drunk by royalty and celebrities around the world. The wine was treated as a symbol of Hungary and was often used as a diplomatic tool.Az elmúlt három évtized azzal telt, hogy vállalkozó szellemű borászok fáradságos munkával visszaszerezzék a tokaji bor világhírnevét.

Hugh Johnson, the noted wine writer, was familiar with Tokaji as one of the world’s original fine wines and at the first opportunity put together a group of investors to found Royal Tokaji. The company’s goal was to work with the same raw materials that had first created these legendary wines and to return the wines of Tokaji to the pinnacle of the wine world.

After the harvest, the aszú grapes are macerated in base wine or fermenting must (which was made from the first harvest) for between 12 and 60 hours. Next, the aszú grape mixture that was macerated in the base wine (sometimes called the aszú dough) is pressed and the resulting juice is fermented. The wine is then stored in oak barrels, which are typically made from oak from the nearby Zemplén forest, and aged for several years in the underground stone cellar systems that’s unique to the Tokaj region. MEASURING SWEETNESS The area where Tokaji wine is traditionally grown is a small plateau, 457 metres (1,500ft) above sea level, near the Carpathian Mountains. The soil is of volcanic origin, with high concentrations of iron and lime. The location of the region has a unique climate, beneficial to this particular viniculture, due to the protection of the nearby mountains. Winters are bitterly cold and windy; spring tends to be cool and dry, and summers are noticeably hot. Usually, autumn brings rain early on, followed by an extended Indian summer, allowing a very long ripening period.

Though Tokaji aszú is known for its perfect balance between its sweetness and acidity and its layers of abundance of flavors, one of its finest attributes is also its seemingly endless finish. You’ll still be tasting the flavors from a good glass of aszú for minutes afterwards. PAIRING ASZÚ WITH FOOD

Pedigree Vineyards

a b c "A névért perelnék az uniót a tokaji gazdák". Népszabadság (in Hungarian). 2008-08-02 . Retrieved 2008-09-21.