"The king of wines and the wine of kings!" about Tokaji Aszu by King Louis XIV
immediately thinks of France or the
New World producers who
deservedly have a good reputation,
however although Hungary has in the
past had a dogged reputation,
mostly thanks to the Eger Bulls
Blood which was mass produced
and exported in the 1970’s, it is
now the producer of some excellent
wines, even the Eger Bulls Blood
has undergone somewhat of a
transformation.
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wineries are now family run ventures focusing primarily on quality rather that quantity.
deliciously sweet dessert wine christened by King Louis XIV as the ”wine of kings and
the king of wines”. Only grapes grown on the slopes of the Tokaji hills are allowed to
carry the name Tokaji Aszu and these grapes have to under go an unusual process to
make Aszu wine.
First and most importantly the grapes are harvested much later than usual, often as late
as October or November as the frost is needed to infect the grape with ”noble rot” a
type of mould. The mould dries up the grape until it resembles a raisin and only then
can it be harvested.
The Aszu grapes are picked and put into ”puttony”, which is a wooden basket carried
on the backs of the harvesters.
The wines are rated from 3 to 6, 6 being the sweetest. The number given to the wine
dictates how many puttony were added to the original base wine, which affects the
sweetness.
Over recent years Tokaji has also started to produce some excellent white wines both
dry and sweet. Also small local cellars often have their own wines, which can not be
found in other parts of Hungary.
Tokaji itself is a small town situated in the North east of Hungary, home to many wine
cellars, vineyards and shops selling wine. It is an extremely pretty town located in an
even more beautiful landscape of gently rolling hills with the River Tisza cutting through
the very centre of the town.
Of all the wines cellars in Tokaji then the 600 year old Rákóczi cellar has to be the most
famous. Here it is possible to take a tour of the cellars and sample several wines (there
is a standard package or you can choose an individual selection) whilst the guide talks
you through the process of making Tokaji Aszu and also gives some historical
information. It is not unusual for tour to be given in English or German during the
summer months if booked in advance.
However there are hundreds of wine cellars dotted around of various sizes and these
are also well worth a visit. Sampling wine in the private cellars is usually free but
beware the wine is that good that you will want to bring all of it home!
As mentioned before Eger is home to the famous Bulls Blood. Once a wine well known
for being awful, it has over the past 10 years undergone and amazing transformation.
The story of the Bulls Blood dates back to the siege of Eger in 1552. 100,000 Turks
were attacking Eger castle, only 2000 Hungarian soldiers were inside the castle but
they managed to hold back the Turks for 1 month. Deep within the castle walls were
numerous barrels of blood red wine. The Hungarian soldiers drank this and drunken
and rowdy they fought with dutch courage and renewed vigour. The clothes were
stained with the red wine and rumours began to circulate among the Turk troops that the
defenders were drinking the blood of bulls to give them strength. Unfortunately it wasn’t
even to keep the Turks back but the name was born and has remained unchanged for
nearly 500 years.
Although Bulls Blood is the most well known wine of Eger there are many other fine
wines produced here. Vilmos Thummeres 1999 vintage is said to be on a par with the
premiers crus from Burgandy.
Of course a trip to Eger would not be complete without a trip to the Vally of the Beautiful
lady, Szépasszony Völgy. Clustered together around a square not far from the centre of
Eger are apx 40 wine cellars. A glass of wine can be brought for as little as 100ft, apx
30 pence but to be truthful it won’t be the best glass of wine you will have tasted.
However the wines sold by the bottle are of a better quality but a touch over priced.
Many people who visit this area are simply happy to buy a drinkable wine at a fair price,
they buy it by the litre take it home and mix either the red wine with cola ”vörös bór” or
the white with tonic or lemonade.
Moving onto the south, perhaps the best area to produce reds in the whole of Hungary.
The red wine produced here is usually full bodied thanks to the perfect warm summer
and the high level of sunshine hours. Many of the wines produced here are ”Barrique”
they are aged only in new oak barrels, which are discarded afterwards, and this gives
the wines a distinct individual taste. One of the best names to look out for is Joszef
Bock.
A relative new comer but one to look out for is a wine producer in Tukk. Over the past
few years the Nyakas cellar has excelled in producing white wines,
However there are still many cheap and poor quality wines available in Hungary so
when searching for a good wine look for ”minöségibor” or ”különleges minöségibor”
which means quality or premium quality wine. This can be compared to the French
quality control of ”appellation controlée”.
Should you wish to visit a wine cellar and sample the delightful wine we suggest you
take
advantage of our wine tours, which allow you to enjoy the wine and us to do the driving.
Tours start at 25GBP per person.
Please visit our links page for links to the
above wine producers.
