Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A virtual post-it on Tokaji.




I don't think I've ever blogged on a dessert wine before. I don't drink very many, hence the dearth of posts on this type of wine. 

Royal Tokaji, 5 puttonyos, 2003. 

I bought this down at Wine Exchange for $29.99, as I needed to taste it before the exam. I kept getting other wines confused for it, but when I tasted it, I realized its really a very specific style of wine, probably more akin to Chenin Blanc than anything else I can think of. But doesn't have the wet wool / bruised apple aromatics of Chenin. 

First, I should say its from Hungary, but then most of you know that already. Second, its fairly low alcohol, 10%. Third, the grape variety, Furmint, is super high in acidity. And while the residual sugar is also quite high, for this one it was 170 g/l (to put that in perspective wines are considered dry if below 4 g/l and Sauternes is around 110 g/l), the acid is so searing that its really hard to detect the high sugar levels. And for those of you new to Tokaji, the Puttonoyos represent the amount of sugar in the wine and range from 1 to 6 (low to high).

Anyhoo, if I were having a dinner party and wanted to serve dessert wine it would be this or a Coteaux du Layon from the Loire Valley or a Beerenauslese Riesling from Germany. I like lots of acid to balance the sugar... 

If you're wondering why I posted pictures of post-it notes I was trying to justify to you why I had taken a break from blogging. My brain was dead post-exam. I had post-it notes up all over the house, so there wasn't a moment when I wasn't learning something. Vin Santo and Ice wine production methods posted on the mirror in the bathroom so I could learn while brushing my teeth. .. MLF was by the front door... stats on China all over the office, Biodynamic / Organic / Sustainable farming methods on the full length mirror, etc. etc. I am beginning to get the impression that I look at myself in the mirror a lot. 

But now I feel invigorated and I know each of you have been terribly anxious for me to start the blogging adventures again. So here it is. Royal Tokaji. 

3 comments:

Sigmund said...

Are you sure the post-its aren't really just a manifestation of your OCD? I bet they say "turn off the stove" and "flip light switch 20 times before entering or leaving the room." The wine facts you've posted here are probably just a ruse, to convince us that you're ok...

Ian Johnson said...

Welcome back.

Kirkland Moody said...

Hope the exam went well!!! I never have blogged about Tokaji...until recently... ON THE SAME DAY AS YOU! Spooky.