One of the iconic estates of the Tokaj Wine Region is called Disznókő winery, is located on a beautiful estate. According to the traditions the managers of the winery invite their progessional guests for a special gathering in the beginning of the New Year. In the private event room of the Veritas wine trading company in Budapest László Mészáros, CEO of Disznókő Winery and Zoltán Lesti, sales manager welcomed the guests. First we tasted the latest dry Furmint 2023, this wine hasn’t been released officially yet, it will be available on the market earliest in April. The wine was aged on fine lees. The salty and mineral character is immediately pops up in the first sip, the bright acid and the fruityness makes this Furmint so special. Most probably it will belong to the best vintages ever.
After tasting the dry Furmint, Aszu took the stage. We tasted the following vintages: 2013, 2003, 1993. One of my favorite was the 5 puttonyos Aszu 2013. The year was a bit cooler, the grape started to ripe later, due to the rainfalls intensive Botrytis was present, which brings some dried fruit notes and spiciness. You can still taste fruits like apricot, but there is an orange jam finish in the end.
We jumped 10 years back in time and got to the 6 puttyonyos Aszu 2003. The higher residual sugar level (170 gr/l) definitely brings a richer character to this vintage. It’s made of 75% Furmint and 25% Zéta grape. The intense soaking technic gives a darker colour. Besides the tipical notes of Aszu (apricot), some tropical notes and vanilla makes this wine unique.
Last but not least ’93-s vintage was a special treat. The 5 and 6 puttonyos wines are so limited, we were able to taste the 4 puttyonyos from this vintage. After the regime change in the ’90s, the first Aszu wine from Disznókő winery was born in 1992. In these years they bought grapes from other wineries, they started to work from their own grape in 1996 only. Tercier aromas are noticed in this wine, coffee and roasted notes, while the residual sugar is 95 gr/l, but with the time it fades away. Long finish, pure harmony in every sip.
During this afternoon tasting we paired these unique wines with olives and cheese. The event was great and had a lovely time. Thank you for the experience and the invitation!
