Elegant and complex, this wine offers stony and mineral flavors, orchard fruit, salinity, and lemon. The palate is fresh and clean, and flavors are layered. There is an interesting acidity on the attack that takes a back seat on the midpalate. The salt of tears rather than seawater is clear on the attack through the midpalate. Medium in body, this wine has a long, complex finish.
WINE INFORMATION
Tokaj is a village in the extreme northeast of Hungary; wines made from the region around the village rather than the village itself, are known as Tokaji. Best known for its signature sweet wine, Tokaji Aszú, the area also produces dry wines, both from the dominant grape, Furmint. Furmint is a high-acid grape, producing wines with the ability to age well, but it is also delightful in its youth. The dry versions are usually extremely concentrated. Furmint buds early and ripens slowly. It is very subject to noble rot (Aszú means shrunken or shriveled), and the sweet wines were widely exported as early as the 16th century. Production languished during the 20th century, as the taste for sweet wines diminished. Under Soviet rule, many (though by no means all) vineyards and wineries were nationalized, and quantity rather than quality drove production. After the collapse of Soviet rule, recovery began, with the quality of both sweet and dry wines, reds and whites, improving considerably. Foreign investment played a major role.
The Disznókö estate was owned by an aristocratic Hungarian family since 1732, when it was declared a Premier Cru, but was nationalized in the 1940s. It has been a World Heritage Site of Tokaji since 2002. The domaine was acquired by a giant French conglomerate with good sensibilities and significant investment in Eastern Europe in 1992, and the wines have returned to their former splendor. Dry Furmint is usually produced from grapes grown at high altitudes, where botrytis is rare. Soils are generally volcanic and the climate is continental. Grapes for this wine were harvested by hand at a good level of ripeness. The must was fermented in stainless steel; the wine saw no malolactic fermentation or oak.
Cheese, Cream Sauce Pasta, East Asian (Chinese/Japanese/Korean), Fondue, Just for Cocktailing, Perfect Aperitif , Vegetables
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