All wines are from the Royal Tokaji
Wine Company; the seminar which accompanied the tasting gives some details about
Tokaji in general, as well as the views of Royal Tokaji Wine Company
and Hugh Johnson (part owner of the RTWC) regarding the production of
Tokaji. All reviews are mine, except for comments noted specifically
in the text. The group voted for their favorite wines, and my
unofficial count indicated that Szt. Tamas came in first, with second
place being roughly a tie between the Nyulászó and
Mezes Maly. I don't think that the Red Label or Birsalmás had
any first place votes. My personal ranking (from 1 to 5) follows each
note before the letter grade. The wines are listed in the order
tasted.
RTWC Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos Red Label
'93--Johnson noted that this is the
biggest seller for RTWC, and that it is identical to the "Blue Label
5 Puttonyos '93"; the two wines were just packaged slightly
differently because they were intended for different markets. He said
that this wine was made from young vines, or from batches of wine
which were felt to be "atypical" of the style of the vineyard from
which they came. The residual sugar level is 120 g/l. The wine was
dark gold, and had aromas of honeyed fruit, with slight oxidation
evident. I noticed a small hint of a musty note; this bottle may have
been very slightly corked. The palate was full of dried apricot and
golden raisins. The finish came in two stages. First, there was an
intense but short burst of dried fruits, which were quenched by a
lively acidity. After the first stage, some raisin flavors, with a
bit of rancio character, coated the mouth for a very long time. (My
5th place wine.)
A-
RTWC Tokaji Aszu Birsalmás
'93--This vineyard was rated a "second
growth" in the 18th century classification mentioned in the report on
the seminar. According to Johnson, this wine sees some new oak, and
is a 5 puttonyos level wine. This wine was a darker gold/brown than
the Red Label. First came rich unctuous honeyed aromas of quince and
fig, with a slight hint of red tea. In the mouth, this wine had an
oily, viscous texture, but wasn't as sweet as I would have expected
given the nose; it was not as sweet as the Red Label, either. The
palate had good dried apricot and fig flavors, along with a slightly
smoky element, but again wasn't as generous as my nose had led me to
expect. The finish was long and rich, with sweet raisin flavors,
along with smoke, spice and vanilla; plenty of acidity to cleanse the
palate. (4th)
A-
RTWC Tokaji Aszu Szt. Tamas
'93--This vineyard was rated a "first
growth", and according to Johnson, it had sugar levels which would
allow it to be labelled as a 6 puttonyos wine. The wine was dark gold
with honey/botrytis aromas leading to a modest amount of fig, raisin
and a hint of tea. This wine was less aromatic than the
Birsalmás, and may have been shut down, as the nose seemed to
improve with air. However, this wine really delivers in the mouth,
with an oily, viscous texture, and lots of honeyed apricot, fig and
raisin flavors. The experience ends with a medium-length finish of
vanilla, apricot and good acidity. (2nd)
A
RTWC Tokaji Aszu Nyulászó
'93--This wine, made from a vineyard
near Szt. Tamas, was also 6 puttonyos level according to Johnson. He
translated the name as "rabbit warren" or "catching rabbits", but
another source has told me that the name means "hare's leap." In any
event, it seems clear that the vineyard name has something to do with
long-eared mammals, and apparently they heard where to get good
grapes. This wine was slightly lighter in color than the Szt. Tamas,
but still dark gold. There was plenty of botrytis evident in the nose
and on the palate. Generous honeyed fig, quince and coconut aromas
led to an elegant mouthful of fruit, including dried fig and quince.
This wine wasn't as viscous as the previous two, and showed more
acidity on the midpalate. The finish was medium length, with good
acidity, and seemed more complex than the other wines, with lots of
apricot, coconut, and honey. The elements of this wine seemed to be
in sharper focus than those in the other wines; there was plenty of
power here, but the good structure and balance made the wine seem
more elegant than I would have expected. (1st)
A
RTWC Tokaji Aszu Mezes Maly
'93--This vineyard, which Johnson
translates as "honeycomb", was considered the best vineyard in
Hungary by the 18th century classification, which set it apart from
the first growths as, "first choice for the table of the king."
Johnson made it fairly clear that this was his favorite of the single
vineyard wines, and noted that this 6 puttonyos level wine had spent
one year longer in barrel than the others. The color was a darker
gold than any of the previous wines. The nose was quite unusual with
some honeyed fig notes, but also a pronounced mushroom aroma. In the
mouth, there were more earthy and mushroomy flavors. It wasn't as
forward and fruity as the other wines, though some honeyed fig
flavors showed through. The finish seemed rather short, even though
there didn't seem to be as much acidity present as in the other
wines. The wine seemed a bit tightly wound, and I'd like to see what
a few years in the bottle will do to it, as there seems to be a lot
going on. This wine is definitely distinctive, but not my favorite of
the day. (3rd)
A
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Copyright 1999 Marcel Lachenmann.
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