Royal Tokaji Betsek Dűlő Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2018 (0,5 L)

In truly exceptional years Royal Tokaji selects the finest berries from its finest vineyards and carefully produces a few barrels of Single Vineyard Aszú. 2017 was such a year, just the eighth this century, showing exceptional richness, structure and backbone balanced by lively acidity - a truly volcanic vintage. Summer was hot, so we began the Aszú berry harvest in early September and continued to pick steadily in the ideal autumn weather. In particular October provided three textbook weeks for fine quality Aszú, with day after day of early morning mists, afternoon sunshine and drying winds. The Aszú wines show great structure, plenty of botrytis, depth and freshness with excellent complexity, all attributes of long ageing potential.

The excellent Aszú berries with good structure and perfect botrytis were macerated in fermenting must for two days. After pressing and finishing fermentation in barrel the wines were filled into Hungarian oak casks in our extensive, deep underground cellars to mature for over two years. The final blends were carefully crafted in the spring of 2020. Betsek hill is a celebrated First Growth vineyard located in the Mád basin. Its volcanic bedrock is overlaid with rich clay mixed with dark, almost black humus soil and chalk-white minerals. Royal Tokaji owns 15ha of south-facing parcels planted with Furmint and Hárslevelű vines with an average age of around 50 years.

This wine shows typical black pepper and orange zest character, vibrant honey and grapefruit on the palate with a long, spicy finish. Enjoy now or cellar for future enjoyment as the wine matures. Sip on its own as an aperitif, serve with fruit-based desserts or hard cheeses, or enjoy this mouth-watering wine on its own instead of a pudding.