Hetszolo Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttonyos 1999

Date: 12 March 2006

Hetszolo Aszu has been known as the king of Tokaj wines for centuries. "Aszu" is the Hungarian word for grapes affected by "noble rot" or botrytis. Aszu grapes are supposedly harvested manually, one grape at a time. The grapes are then crushed and added to a dry wine to give sweetness and aroma. The proportion of Aszu grapes added to the base wine varies and is measured in "puttonyos". One "puttony" represents 30 kg of grapes poured into 126 litre of base wine. The number of puttonyos can vary from 3 to 6 (the higher the sweeter). The grapes are then left on their skins for one night and then pressed. The resultant wines are finally aged in oak casks for a minimum of 3 years before bottling.

The 1999 vintage 3 Puttonyos Aszu had aromas of apricots, plum and citrus. The wine came in a 500mL bottle, it was served at around 10 degrees celcius. Palate was clean and fresh with flavours of honey, almond and rockmelon. It complimented the sea-urchin fried rice perfectly. Back label of the wine is in French but I think it said something like "mysterious and charming, the true King of Wines and Wine of Kings (Louis XIV)".

Rating: good