'The king of wines, wine of kings'.

Tokay had already been produced for many years when Louis XIV of France made this famous statement in 1650. These luscious sweet wines were highly prized by emperors and kings alike. Indeed, so precious were they that Catherine the Great kept troops of Cossacks purely to protect the wines on their journey from Hungary to Russia.

Tokay is produced in a variety of styles from the dry aperitif Szamorodni to the intensely sweet Tokay Essencia. All of the older wines have come from the Tokay museum and are from the finest vintages of the 50s and 60s. The dry Szamorodni is a wonderful aperitif wine and is not unlike very good fino sherry. The sweet Szamorodni has similarities to the Aszu in that it has a proportion of botrytis affected grapes. The Aszus themselves are rich, luscious dessert wines produced only in the best years.

The sweetness is denoted by the amount of Puttonyo they contain. A Puttonyo is a tub which is filled with handpicked botrytis affected grapes that have been kneaded to a paste. A number of these Puttonyos are added to the original dry wine. Three, four or five Putts are most commonly seen, very occasionally six Putts. The higher the number the sweeter the wine.

As in Sauternes, the botrytis cinerea or Noble Rot is highly prized. It shrivels the grape leaving the concentrated sugars behind and this is what gives the Aszus their rich sweetness.

Following these wines is Aszu Essence, produced only in exceptional years from the very best vineyards. It is made purely from botrytis affected grapes, hand selected.