Hungary
Hungary used to be wine royalty. Tokaji was the most prized bottle in Europe for two hundred years. Louis XIV drank it. Peter the Great ordered it by the barrel. Then came phylloxera. Two world wars. Forty years of communist mass production. The industry was gutted.
Recovery started in the 1990s. Spain's Vega Sicilia bought the Oremus estate in Tokaj. Other foreign investors followed. Hungarian wine is back on serious wine lists. The Reserve Cellar's Hungarian range focuses on Oremus, the estate at the centre of that revival.
What is Tokaji wine?
Tokaji is sweet white wine from northeastern Hungary. Furmint is the main grape. Hárslevelű plays second. The grapes stay on the vine into late autumn. A fungus called botrytis shrivels them. The sugar concentrates. What sets Tokaji wine apart is the acidity. Furmint has more of it than almost any other white grape. The wine stays fresh instead of cloying. The Tokaj region was demarcated by royal decree in 1737. One of the first appellations in the world.
Why is Tokaji called the wine of kings?
Louis XIV gave it the title. Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II of Transylvania sent him a gift of Tokaji. The king called it "Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum." Wine of kings, king of wines. The phrase stuck. Tokaji became the favourite of the Russian tsars. The Habsburgs. Frederick the Great. A long line of popes. Peter the Great kept a permanent garrison in Hungary to protect his supply. The wine appears in the Hungarian national anthem.
What does Tokaji taste like?
Apricot, honey, orange marmalade, saffron. A deep golden colour. The texture is rich without being heavy, thanks to that famous Furmint acidity cutting through the sweetness. Tokaji wine comes in two main styles. Late Harvest is the lighter introduction. Aszú is the historic flagship. It's made from heavily botrytised grapes. Sweetness is graded by puttonyos. Older Aszú shows caramel, dried fig and a savoury, umami depth. These bottles can age for a century.
What are the best Hungarian wines?
Tokaji leads the list, both the sweet Aszú style and the dry Furmint now winning serious attention. The Oremus estate, owned by Spain's Vega Sicilia, is the producer that opened the door for everyone else. Outside Tokaj, Eger in the north makes Egri Bikavér, known in English as Bull's Blood. Legend has it that Hungarian defenders of Eger castle drank so much red wine during a 16th-century Ottoman siege that the invaders thought they were drinking actual bull's blood and retreated. While this myth is great for dinner party stories, the wine itself is real, and worth seeking out. South of there, Villány has built a reputation for structured Cabernet Franc and Kékfrankos, leading Hungary's red wine renaissance. One last note on spelling. Tokay wine is the older English version of Tokaji. Same region, same wine, different century.
Some of the most historically important wine in Europe is being made again and the Reserve Cellar's Hungarian collection is your way in. Feel Transported.
