Tokaj

2 notes

The Year Puttonyos Became Optional

Royal Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2013 (Blue Label) · Tokaj, Hungary · tasted 23 December 2020

From the 2013 vintage Hungary abolished the lower puttonyos grades, and the number on the label stopped being a legal requirement. This bottle still says five — by choice rather than obligation, and from one of the best aszú years of the decade.

The Forgotten Aszú Vintage

Disznókő Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2010 · Tokaj, Hungary · tasted 12 December 2020

It rained on roughly half the days of 2010 in Tokaj, and the vintage was written off almost before it was bottled. Ten years later, in a half-litre bottle at the tail end of a long evening, the wine made the case that the write-off had been premature.