I’ve been preparing to write about this wine until many things I wanted to write are now out of date. But please continue reading, having in mind that these are my thoughts today (yesterday, actually).

I must admit that I’m relatively new to Tokaj wines. At the heights of my snobbery, drinking sweet wines was out of question. This only started changing 3 years ago under heavy influence of a local winemaker. Now I can only laugh at myself, how pathetic it was not being able to find the place of Tokaj wines in wine drinking. Anyway, my attention towards Tokaj started few years after Tokaj producers realised the potential in Furmint and Hárslevelű. Even today, only a handful of them are taking the dry Tokaji seriously. Most of them still think of it as a side-effect of variable climate: botritis-based noble rotting does not happen every year, at least not with the required intensity. And the result is either late harvest wines (which do not sell in large quantities – although it should, but this will be the subject of another post yet to come) or dry Furmint. Traditionally, these were mostly sold as bulk-wines but fortunately some quality winemakers started exploring the terroir in these wines. And the grapes appreciated their efforts, resulting in exceptional dry furmints in 2000 repeating it in almost every year. Of course, its quality still varied each year, so the better the conditions were, more Aszú were produced and less dry Furmint. In spite of this, you can still buy from the exceptional Oremus Mandolás Furmint 2003 and I celebrated this so much I bought several bottles from that year’s harvest.

I must admit I like Furmint a bit more than Hárslevelű, which tend to be more spicy.

The review

Now let’s get to the wine.

First of all, the nose is still at its best: very intense, a mixture of honey, cinnamon and lemon raspings. Beautiful, very dense. Unlike the more elegant Hétszőlő (Hétszőlő represents to me a whole other school of Furmint making), Mandolás is (although heavier on the nose and on the palate) more playful, sunny. Its maker’s objective was to impress you immediately when you sniff it. Good job, well done. Well balanced in on the nose, a whirlpool of sweetness and a bitter undertone. When you taste it, the whirlpool takes to the rocky bottom: it’s a mixture of minerals and pear, or rather quiche. Yes, because almond is also present with a mouth-filling sensation. Then suddenly, earlier than just a few months ago, its age takes over the taste and turns it into a tart, but still tasty, long finish. It recalls the memories of multi-colored fall leafs in its taste. And nice touch of mineral sensation remains.

This wine is now on sale with a discount, at around HUF 2 100 which still qualifies it for a best buy but only just, and not for long. So go and get one and drink it immediately.

Score: 6+ (it used to be a 7/7+ not so long ago)

Price: HUF 2 100 (EUR8)

Furmint’s been emerging as a standalone dry wine recently from the shadows of the Aszú, following some really exceptional late harvest furmints (whose quality sometimes exceeds some mid-range Aszús). Hétszőlő’s been quite modest about their furmint and their shyness is a bit of a mystery. The 2004 was average, the 2005 was really not so bad.

I got some Hétszőlő Furmint 2006 few weeks after getting into bottles, long before being put on general sale and it was very promising even for a very young wine. Few months after it’s more developed, almost perfectly balanced. It’s traditionally bright coloured at Hétszőlő due to the soil (loess and clay on a base of vulcanic rocks) and the process of fermentation and maturing. It’s the exact opposite of the Mandolás Furmint from Oremus. Mandolás will be covered very soon, I still have a few bottles from the legendary 2003.

Hétszőlő is one of the most honest wineries in Tokaj and in the whole country. In poor years they produce average quality furmints and late harvests, but above the average of the competition. In better years, and when conditions are ideal for botritis rotting, they produce excellent Aszú. Their Kövérszőlő is one of the most enjoyable items in its category. Tibor Kovács is probably the most experimental wine maker in Tokaj. For him, terroir is more important than regulation, but we’ll talk about this later when we will be reviewing Aszú. And he’s an honest man too. He once told me that he believes that 80-90% depends on the grape, 10-20% (maximum) should depend on the winemaker. For sure, Hétszőlő owns some of the best slopes in Tokaj.

So let’s get to the note now.

Right after opening and for an hour, different types of apple and peach are dominant in smell. Almost crispy acid well balanced by extract sweetness (it’s still a dry wine). Taste like apple, after a while hazelnut, almond and later lots of locust! Few hours later acid and sweetness start to disintegrate, becoming more similar to a chilien chardonnay (like Sunrise), it’s halfway between it and a typical Juhfark from Somló. Marzipan flavor is dominant at the end.

Drink it really chilled, at around 10°C.

Score: 5+, 6- (easily could have been a strong 6+/7- with a longer lasting balance).

Price: HUF 1700 (EUR 6.5). Underrated, almost a best buy.

Some official background info: Harvesting is entirely manual. Fermentation takes place over a 10-day period in stainless steel tanks and the process is strictly temperature controlled (14 – 18°C). The wine is then gently filtered in order to maximise extraction and retain maximum flavour. It is bottled in February or March of the following year. The modern vats (built in 1992) are very close to the vineyards.