Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon: August 2024

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Living the Tokaj dream in Hungarian wine country: Patricius Winery

There we stood at Patricius's Várhegy Vineyard, awaiting to discover more Tokaj (toe-kye) dreams in Hungarian wine country. Ever since my very first introduction to Tokaj wines I have wanted to learn more; so when I visited Patricius Winery last May it was, for me, a dream come true.

Welcome to Patricius Winery, Bodrogkisfalud © Spaswinefood

When we arrived at Tokaj's Patricius Winery, Bodrogkisfalud, the estate manager Dr Péter Molnár welcomed us. After attending the 2nd FICB (Federation International of Wine Brotherhoods) Wine Tasting and Rating Challenge's main program in Budapest, May 23-May 26, 2024, off we went to Tokaj for extension program, May 26-May 28, 2024. Fortunately, our program included a visit to Patricius Winery. Let me share some highlights from that awesome experience in Tokaj wine country.

Welcome to Patricius © Spaswinefood

Although I have been to Hungarian wine country a number of times this was my first visit to the Tokaj Wine Region. The Tokaj Wine Region, which takes its name from the town of Tokaj, was established in 1737. It was the first wine region in the world to create an official vineyard classification.  

Living the Tokaj Dream: Patricius Winery

Patricius Winery, established in 2000, is headed-up by Dezsö Kékessy and his daughter Katinka Kékessy-Wimpffen. They began acquiring top vineyard sites in the Tokaj region in 1997. The Kékessy family are committed to drawing from both the past and the future in the winemaking process. The family has a long history of winegrowing in the Tokaj and Mátra wine regions, dating back to the 1700s. The winery is located under a rebuilt winepress house in the Várhegy vineyard. Patricius's winery building, dating back to the 19th Century, was renovated in 2005 and fitted with a partially underground gravity-flow cellar. The aesthetic of this old building has been preserved and carefully integrated into a modern subterranean gravity-flow winery. Patricius is where you will find both tradition and the state-of-the-art modernity co-existing in a world heritage landscape. The Tokaj wine region was listed as a protected cultural landscape by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in 2002. Today the region is recognized for its importance to the common cultural heritage of humanity. UNESCO states:

Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape

The cultural landscape of Tokaj graphically demonstrates the long tradition of wine production in this region of low hills and river valleys. The intricate pattern of vineyards, farms, villages and small towns, with their historic networks of deep wine cellars, illustrates every facet of the production of the famous Tokaj wines, the quality and management of which have been strictly regulated for nearly three centuries.

After an introduction, we toured the winery, did a wine tasting, and concluded with a discussion in the estate vineyard.

Exp[loring Patricius Winery © Spaswinefood

While we toured the winery we were introduced to some of its history, and present day operations. Visitors to this gravity-flow winery can view the various areas in the winemaking process.

Touring Patricius Winery © Spaswinefood

After the tour I so loved being introduced to Patricius wines.

Tasting Patricius Wines © Spaswinefood

Patricius produces sparkling, dry still white wines, late harvest, and five and six puttonyos Tokaji Aszú and Aszú Eszencia wines. This estate's first wines were released in 2007. Their production is primarily the famous sweet Tokaji Aszú and the single varietal Furmint. Amongst the wines we tasted were:

1. Patricius, Furmint (Dry White Wine) Tokaj 2022

Patricius, Furmint (Dry White Wine) Tokaj 2022 © Spaswinefood

2. Patricius, Katinka (Late Harvest) Tokaj 2021

Patricius, Katinka (Late Harvest) Tokaj 2021 © Spaswinefood

3. Patricius, Tokaj Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2018

Patricius, Tokaj Aszú 5 Puttonyos, 2018 © Spaswinefood

In the Glass: Patricius Tokaj Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2018 © Spaswinefood

This was a great intro to Patricius wines. Yes, that Patricius Tokaj Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2018 is most delicious.

The winery production of sparkling, still, late harvest, and aszú wines, over the years have been awarded more than 70 international gold and platinum medals at the most important wine competitions. In 2016, Patricius was the Hungarian Winery of the Year. After the tasting there was an opportunity to buy some wines. I could not resist picking up a Patricius, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2000 for later.

Patricius, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2000

Patricius, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2000 © Spaswinefood

I so loved being able to acquire this 2000 Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos. Since 2014, only the five and six puttonyos wines are permitted to use the term, Aszú. It is also important to note that Aszú is not made every year. The winemaker decides, if the quality of harvest allows Aszú production, or not. The Aszú´s stable acidity characterizes this dessert wine, which is one of the slowest maturating and most long-living wines in the world. I so look forward to enjoying the Patricius, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2000 at some future date.

It has taken me some time to develop an understanding of Tokaj's Furmint wines, especially its sweet wines. At the end of this post there is an overview of the categorization of Tokaj's sweet wines (Late Harvest, Szamorodni, and Aszú wines).

Patricius Vineyards

After touring the winery and tasting the wines we returned to the estate vineyard. Patricius owns 140 hectares (346 acres) of land, with 85 hectares (210 acres) of vineyard, and 68.5 hectares of vines in cultivation, growing the traditional varieties of Tokaj. The grape varieties include Furmint, Harslevelu, Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), Zeta and Koverszolo. The vineyards are cultivated with strict yield control, and once harvested the grapes are processed gently using a gravity flow system.

Várhegy, Patricius Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood

Patricius Winery Estate Vineyard, May 2024 © Spaswinefood

Their fruit is sourced from premier vineyards that they have slowly been acquiring, since 1997. This family-owned wine estate has seven first class first-growth vineyards located in five villages.

Szárhegy-dűlő, Sárazsadány
Czigány-dűlő, Bodrogkisfalud
Várhegy-dűlő, Bodrogkisfalud
Lapis-dűlő, Bodrogkeresztúr
Bendecz-dűlő, Bodrogkeresztúr
Sajgó-dűlő, Bodrogkeresztúr
Teleki-dűlő, Tokaj

As usual I could not resist taking a closer look at the estate vineyard.

Spring Time, Patricius Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood

Spring Time Vines, Patricius Várhegy Vineyard © Spaswinefood

Our springtime visit to Patricius Winery was indeed an awesome Tokaj experience.

Thank you for a Great Visit © Spaswinefood

For me my visit to Patricius was part of my living the Tokaj dream in this Hungarian world heritage landscape. It was an absolute delight to visit Patricius Winery during the 2nd FICB Wine Tasting and Rating Challenge in Hungary, 23-28 May 2024. As a member of the KOV (Knights of the Vine) Tahoe Chapter it was indeed a pleasure to attend the 2024 FICB in Hungary. For sure each visit to Hungary, this was my third time visiting Hungarian wine country, has provided me with the most amazing wine adventures. Now, is the time to explore Hungarian Wines! I invite you to join me in my wine adventures in Hungary at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon and at Spaswinefood on Twitter and Facebook.

CHEERS!

Sharon

May 2024

Tokaj, Hungary

Várhegy, Patricius Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood

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While in Tokaj we stayed at Andrassy Manor and Spa.

Notes from an earlier Spaswinefood post on Late Harvest, Szamorodni, and Aszú wines.

Tokaj's Late Harvest, Szamorodni, and Aszú Wines

Tokaj's sweet wines have been categorized as Late Harvest, Szamorodni, and Aszú wines since 2014.

Aszú Wines

Let's begin with what makes Tokaji Aszú wines so special. The Aszú´s acidity characterizes this dessert wine, which is one of the slowest maturating and most long-living wines in the world. The great balance in Tokaj Aszú comes from the natural acidity in the grapes, particularly furmint, the dominant grape variety. Three other grapes are commonly used (harslevelu, muscat blanc à petit grains, zeta, and a few other grapes are also permitted). While the Aszú wines are usually blends, occasionally you’ll find a 100 % Furmint Aszú.

The basis of this wine are hand-picked, dried and noble rotten berries. After selection, the dry berries are processed into an Aszú dough. Aszú wines are made by pressing the grapes shriveled by botrytis into a paste, and then blending that paste with a still wine. The taste and quality of the Aszú mainly depends on the number of hods (puttonyos) filled with dry berries, which are added to a cask of dry base wine. The word puttonyo, or basket, is an old method of gauging the sweetness in the wines. Moderately sweet wines contain three puttonyos of paste, with a sweeter wine containing four, and so on, up to 6 puttonyos. The proportion of aszú berries to dry base wine for a 6 puttonyos Aszú is about 1:1. Before 1945, also 2 puttonyos Aszú was marketed.

Late Harvest and Szamorodni
It is important to note that since 2014, only the five and six puttonyos wines are permitted to use the term Aszú. Those sweet wines in the three and four category are now labelled Late Harvest, and Szamorodni. In the case of Szamorodni, unlike Aszú wines which are picked by the berry, the grapes are picked in bunches at the end of the harvest, and depending on the sugar level of the grapes are made into dry (Száraz) or sweet (Szamorodni) wines.

Aszú Berries © Spaswinefood

Tokaji Aszú has been described as a noble sweet wine from Tokaji. I am inclined to agree with the claim because Aszú wine has a perfect balance of acidity and sugar levels. The basis of this wine are hand-picked, dried and noble rotten berries. As noted earlier since 2014, only the five and six puttonyos wines are permitted to use the term, Aszú. It is also important to note that Aszú is not made every year. The winemaker decides, if the quality of harvest allows Aszú production, or not. The Aszú´s stable acidity characterizes this dessert wine, which is one of the slowest maturating and most long-living wines in the world.

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Living the Tokaj dream in Hungarian wine country: Oremus Winery

Our first stop was Oremus Winery, a historic wine producer, located in Tolcsva within the Tokaj (toe-kye) region of northeast Hungary. Tolcsva once favored by nobles, is home to Oremus, one of the larger wineries in the area, the first Bohemian restaurant in the region, and a wooden onion-dome church. While viewing the vineyards from the patio at Ormeus the village church's uniqueness caught my attention. Given I did not visit the church, based on my limited research the Roman Catholic Church tower was redesigned in a baroque style. The clocktower's pink wooden structure now supports a black onion dome. What I did discover was that this wine area has rich wine history, dating back to the 1600s. In 1993 the Alvarez family, owners of Spain's iconic Vega Sicilia, purchased the Oremus estate and founded Tokaj-Oremus Viñedos y Bodegas.

Church, Tolcsva, Hungary © Spaswinefood

The Tokaj Wine Region, which takes its name from the town of Tokaj, was established in 1737. It was the first wine region in the world to create an official vineyard classification. After 2nd FICB (Federation International of Wine Brotherhoods) Wine Tasting and Rating Challenge's main program was held in Budapest, from May 23-May 26, 2024, off we went to Tokaj for extension program, from May 26-May 28, 2024. Tokaj's Furmint wines are produced in a variety of styles, range from bone dry to extremely sweet. It has taken me some time to develop an understanding of Tokaj's Furmint wines. Ever since my very first introduction to Tokaj wines I have strived to learn more; so when I visited Tokaj last May it was, for me, a dream come true. I was so excited to visit the Tokaj wine region for the first time.

Living the Tokaj Dream: Tokaj-Oremus Viñedos y Bodegas

Upon arrival at Oremus we met up with the winemaker and was introduced to its fabulous wines. While Tokaj is best known for its Tokaji Aszú, a noble sweet wine, it has also received attention for its sparkling and dry white wines.

Welcome to Oremus © Spaswinefood

Our welcoming drink was dry Furmint wine called Mandolás.

Oremus, Mandolás © Spaswinefood

Oremus, Mandolás 2021 © Spaswinefood

Over a glass of Mandolás, outside on the patio, we were introduced to Tokaj's Ormeus winery.

Welcome to Oremus © Spaswinefood

Today's estate includes historic Tokaji vineyards, with each vineyard characterized by different soil and microclimatic conditions. Besides Furmint they also grow smaller amounts of Hárslevelü, Sárga Muskotály, Zéta, Kövérszolo, and Gohér. After some brief history and overview of its vineyards we went on a tour inside the winery.

Oremus is best known for its sweet wines, which are aged in tunnels that were carved by hand into the typical volcanic tuff rock of the Tokaj hills. There are a number of legends centered on the earliest production of Tokaji Aszú. Winesearcher notes: Legend has it that in 1650, fearing an attack by the Turks, harvest was postponed for two months. Grapes were able to dehydrated on the vine and eventually produced an exceptional, intensely sweet wine.

The winery's 13th Century underground cellars is where its wines are stored and aged. These cellars are a jewel of the Oremus estate. The ancient, kilometers-long system of cellar labyrinths have been protected as a World Heritage Site since 2002. Its cellars were once 10 separate cellars, until they were connected underground to form an almost 4 km labyrinth in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the communist regime, the tunnels were used as the most prestigious aging cellar of the state cooperative. In 1993, the famous Spanish wine company Bodegas Vega-Sicilia bought and revitalised the Oremus estate.

Before tasting Oremus Tokaji Aszú we were given a brief overview of how it is produced. The winery utilizes both traditional and contemporary wine production methods. Their late harvest wine is mostly made from overripe grapes whereas the Aszú wine is made from botrytized berries. Tokaj's sweet wines have been categorized as Late Harvest, Szamorodni, and Aszú wines (see overview at end of post). The botrytized dessert wines, the Aszú and Eszencia, require a slow fermentation process and years of aging in small barrels in Oremus' ancient underground cellars before release. Eszencia is the most concentrated essence of its ripest grapes. It is the liquid gold that very slowly oozes from aszú grapes raisined by botrytis. Oremus also produces a dry Furmint wine called Mandolás.

The estate makes a range of the region's famous botrytized Tokaji wines, with sweetness levels, from three to six puttonyos. The vineyards have a continental climate and the nearby confluence of two rivers provides the ideal conditions at harvest that make it possible for grapes to be affected by botrytis.

Amongst the Oremus Tokaji Aszú wines we tasted was a Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2017.

Oremus, Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2017

Since 2014, only the five and six puttonyos wines are permitted to use the term, Aszú. It is also important to note that Aszú is not made every year. The winemaker decides, if the quality of harvest allows Aszú production, or not. The Aszú´s stable acidity characterizes this dessert wine, which is one of the slowest maturating and most long-living wines in the world.

As I noted earlier they also produce a single dry Furmint wine called Mandolás.

After being introduced to Oremus wines, and touring the winery there was an opportunity to buy some wines. I could not resist picking up a Oremus, Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2000 for later.

Oremus, Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2000

My visit to this property reminded me of another Vega Sicilia wine that I was introduced to earlier in Spain.

I was an absolute delight to visit Oremus during the 2nd FICB Wine Tasting and Rating Challenge in Hungary, 23-28 May 2024. As a member of the KOV (Knights of the Vine) Tahoe Chapter it was a pleasure for me to attend the 2024 FICB in Hungary. For sure each visit to Hungary, this was my third time visiting Hungarian wine country, has provided me with the most amazing wine adventures.

My Oremus visit was part of my living the Tokaj dream in Hungarian wine country. Now, is the time to explore Hungarian Wines! I invite you to join me in my wine adventures in Hungary at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon and at Spaswinefood on Twitter and Facebook.