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A few weeks ago I wrote a column about pairing Port with Stilton, and suggested a plethora of related dry wine pairings on different textural principals. Today it’s time to talk about Europe’s other two delightful yet golden sweet wines, Tokaji Aszú and Sauternes - some of the best-selling and most raved about sweet wines in the world.
Voltaire once said of Tokaji, “[it] brings vigor to the smallest fiber of my brain, and revives the enchanting sparkle of wit and good humor.” Ditto. This is one of the greatest historical wines of all time. Thousands of famous and ecclesiastical figures have been known to frequent orders of Tokaji including the likes of Louis XIV, Pope Pious X, Beethoven, and even Napoleon III.
Tokaji is a small wine region in the south of Hungary, that shares a border with Slovakia. Technically, there are two sides of the Tokaji region, but the Slovak side does not enforce the same level of quality as the Hungarian side, and is thus, far less sought after. Tokaji itself marks the south eastern side of this region where the two rivers, the Bodrog and Tisza meet. To the north there are a series of mountains, and the plain itself lies about four hundred and fifty meters above sea level, and consists of nearly 5,500 hectares of vineyard space.
The soil type here is volcanic Rhyolite and Tufa, but aged and leftover from the multitude of ancient volcanos that once existed here. This means, of course, that the soils yield a high mineral content, but are generally well-draining enough for quality wine. And quality wine is exactly what is made here.
The vines that make up Tokaji are roughly eighty percent Furmint grape and twenty percent Hárslevelü. Both of these white grapes are known for a decent presence of acid, and incredible ability to harbor decadent minerality. The area produces about fifty percent dry wines and only about one percent of the production ends up being Aszú (sweet) wine.
The dry wines made in the region from the local Furmint are incredible. They have the crisp lime-like zest of the wine of the Loire Valley, with stunning body, and incredible balance. Far more minerality and mushroom aromas dominate as secondary flavors on the palette. A keen taster will also spot some orange or tangerine flavors that bring an almost Albariño-like or Chablis-esque lees note to the ensemble.
But the Aszú wines are what this region is famous for, in typical botrytized fashion, the dominant flavors of caramel, almond and vanilla dominate the initial palette. The secondary palette is where the difference is made and Aszú sets itself apart from almost any other botrytized wine in Europe. Dominant flavors on the secondary palette are generally a lot of orange and red fruit components such as apricot, prune, and even sometimes blackcurrant.
Harvesting takes place from late August for dry wines, onto January for the sweetest wines. Winters are short and brutal, spring is dry and jovial, and summer is intense. Fall brings on the rains, humidity, and most importantly, in this humid nook by the conjoined rivers, the fog. The low lying fog dissipates and the noble rot, a fungus called Botrytis Cinerea, begins to zombifying the grapes into fuzzy grey boogers.
Multiple harvests mean multiple stored musts that vary in sweetness levels ultimately resulting in makers blending variations of the harvest to get the optimal balance year over year. Musts with higher acid are pawned off as dry wines, while sweeter musts are used in the finer blending resulting in less vintage variation, though the best years are coveted by collectors.
Sweetness here is measured in puttonys, a local measurement based on the 136L fermentation, and production vats used. You will see this written as either 5, or 6 puttanyos on the label of the wine, six being the highest residual sugar, and highest ratio of must to dough. The dough is made when the sweet botrytized grapes are macerated in with the must of the first harvest, and smashed into a paste along the bottom of the barrel adding intense sweetness to the wine. The clear resulting product is then racked off the top of the container.
The puttanyos measurement is disappearing fast from labels as the region has decided to ensure the highest quality possible, finding it necessary to exempt Aszú from any label that does not contain the minimum 120g/L residual sugar: the equivalent of 5 puttanyos as new industry standard. These wines also must be aged in traditional Zemplén forest oak for eighteen months, and stored in the noble-mold cellar system that runs in catacombs under the Tokaji region. This mold is a black goo that grows on the bottles to protect the wines from oxidation, and forms as a result of alcohol contact with the cavernous air.
For a modern delicious Tokaji Aszú that is available at most major retailers, check out Ch. Megyer Tokaji Aszú. While a little on the expensive side, these fantastic Hungarian bombshells are loaded with flavor and are the standard Tokaji of the region. the begin with the subtleties of botrytis, that is, caramel, gasoline, brown sugar, and begin to develop flavors of espresso, almond and peat moss. finally the fruit kicks in and displays wonderful key lime, pear, floral lily bud and even a bit of pomegranate. Ch. Megyer makes their wines in the traditional Tokaji style and they are a well renown mainstay producer in Tokaji.
Tokaji Aszú arrived to the pleasure of European nobility in the early 1600’s and was first recorded in documentation dating back to 1547. It was originally assumed to be the product of a one Mr. Laszlo Szepsi, when under threat of Ottman invasion, he decided to postpone the harvest late into the season of 1620. This resulted in a raisinated moldy vineyard, but he decided to try making wine from the grapes anyway. Unfortunately, this story probably vastly overplays Mr. Szepsi’s role in the advent of modern Tokaji, yet it is still relevant as a piece of lore to the region.
A thousand miles away, in Bordeaux, meanwhile, the Dutch had begun draining the the swamplands of the left bank, giving way to the mineral-rich gavel we know today as Graves and the Médoc. Investment buyers were flocking to this side of Bordeaux in the 1600’s to purchase for themselves a piece of this incredible land so famous for its delightful regional blends of Claret, at the time sold in vast quantities to the English via Dutch mercantile ships.
But the popularity of Claret would wain facing the scourge of Beer and tavern culture in England and the thirty years war would inevitable make it difficult for the Dutch to regulate the trade of German wines that their population coveted so much, as Germany had become a battleground. As such, the mercantile Dutch sought out suitable areas to grow white vines to meet demand. Entre-deux-Mers was a region born at this time, and across the Garonne, so the sleepy town of Sauternes had a name to make for itself all those years ago.
What do Thomas Jefferson, Mel Brooks, and Oz Clarke all have in common? A love for Sauternes. Typically sold in 375Ml half-bottles, these golden honeyed sweet wines are more popular today than they have ever been. When aged they take on a brown color, and develop a roasted nutty marshmallow flavor, when young their acid and candy-like herbaceousness boasts flavors of chamomile, and elderflower.
Like Tokaji, these wines are picked in several harvests from the months of September, all the way to late November before the frosts begin. The soil in this part of Bordeaux is Gravel, but with mixed sand and clay silt. These are good soils for draining, but cooler, and the topography boasts lower elevation, and less consistent exposure to the sun, making the plains here better for white wines.
There is a more salinic aspect here to the flavor of Sauternes as well, being so close to salt waters of the ocean. The minerality of the gravel here really induces a saline quality to the wine as well which makes white Bordeaux and Sauternes alike shine next to locally caught Oysters. Thus, the botrytized sweetness has to remedy all of the savory underpinnings and match the astronomical levels of acid if the wines are to be sold as Sauternes. Wines grown in Sauternes that do not meet residual sugar levels, or refuse to botrytize some years, are labeled Bordeaux AOC.
The most prominent house is of course Chateaux d’Yquem, which has sustained a lot of growth in the past few years under the ownership of French luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton, Moët, Hennessy (LVMH). The typical 375Ml bottle of Ch. d’Yquem costs over $1500. Ch. d’Yquem achieved fame when it was classified in the highest category of the 1855 classification of Left bank Bordeaux wines. That being said, there are a ton of value estates that make a fantastic, enjoyable Sauternes.
The sweet wines of Bordeaux are produced in greater Sauternes, with the overall area being broken down into different communal classifications. These are Sauternes proper, Barsac, Preignac, Bommes and Fargue. All communes are allowed to put Sauternes on the label, though only Barsac can also choose to add Barsac to their labels should the producer choose to do so. This is becoming reliably more common among the producers of Barsac.
All of these areas make sweet wines from the thin-skinned and sweet grape, Semillon. For good acidity, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle also play a minority role in the blend. The climate between the rivers of the Gironde and Garonne estuary is similar to that of Tokaji, with long humid summers and wet autumns great for rot. Noble rot, that is.
The process of making these wines differs slightly. harvest only begins when clumps are botrytized, unlike in Tokaji where there are several dry wine harvests. Grapes are pressed normally and fermented in a must. The residual sugars are so great that the alcohol produced by the yeasts and the botrytis bacteria itself, halts fermentation before most of these wines get beyond fifteen percent alcohol, leaving loads of sugar behind. Though the residual sugar can be dependent on the season and how much noble rot there actually was on the grapes before they were pressed. Vintage variation does exist in Sauternes, and can cause vintages like the wet year of 2000, to sell for higher premiums.
If you’re in the mood to check out a stupendous affordable sauternes, Chateau Miselle is a fantastic buy that is available at some major retailers. The wine is rich and vanilla flavored with green pear citrus notes, a chamomile undertone, with complex flinty aftertaste. It’s caramel flavored from the botrytis but has a lot of warmth and resonant orchard fruit like apricot and peach. This wine pairs excellent with vanilla ice cream, as is befitting of this delightful style.
That's All,
~K