I signed up for the webinar “Discover Tokaj with Annamaria Panka Juhasz” hosted by WSET School in London on January 25. Wines from Hungary? I was quite curious!
Since I am based in Montreal (Canada), it wasn’t possible to get the wines that were going to be featured during the webinar. I searched “Tokaj” on the website of my local liquor store and was quite happy to find a few options so I could follow along during the webinar. These were not the same as the ones Annamaria was going to be discussing but it would still give me a good idea of what is produced in the Tokaj region.
Known for its famous dessert sweet wines, the production of dry styles in Tokaj has been increasing since 2000 – while the region produced 4% of dry wines in 2003, it is now up to 20%. Tokaj is a complex wine region located in the North East of Hungary and known for its volcanic soil. Indeed, its geology is the biggest complexity factor to the region as a soil composition can change every 15-20 meters.
The Tokaj region has a long historical background and its wine industry has gone through a lot of ups and downs. Today the region is experimenting with a young modern wine making era with a lot of fun experimentation happening. Sustainable viticulture is also gaining popularity.
From my local liquor store I chose three wines from Tokaj to follow along during the webinar:
- Pajzos Furmint Tokaji 2018 which is 100% Furmint.
- Château Dereszla Furmint Dry Tokaji 2019, an interesting blend of 85% Furmint, 7% Muscat and some Kabar B.
- Holdvolgy Hold and Hollo Dry Tokaj 2017, a fun blend of 60% Furmint, 20% Zéta, 10% Harslevelu and 10% Muscat à petits grains.
As noticed, the common varietal in all three is Furmint, which is the main type of grape in the region (60%). Strong evidence also demonstrates Furmint is native to Hungary although also planted in other countries like Slovakia.
I enjoyed the three wines I had during the webinar. I enjoyed the Pajzos Furmint Tokaji’s freshness with its hints of herbs on the palate. The Château Dereszla Furmint Dry was also interesting, very fresh on the palate with lovely flavours of peach. And finally the Holdvolgy Hold and Hollo was my favourite. I also got flavours of peach and green apple. I ended up pairing with that evening with “bacalhau à Gomes de Sá” - a typical Portuguese casserole of cod fish, potatoes, eggs, olives, olive oil and onions. A sort of “East Europe meets West Europe” pairing!
Which wine from Tokaj should I try next?
