TDG: Wine Camp: That's Tokay for You

[Fat Guy]

Making sense of Tokay, Tokaji , and Tocai . . .

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[Andre]

Thanks again Craig,

Tokaj is a village in North-Eastern Hungary. Tokaji reflects the region. [ i = off Tokaj ]. The fame of this region had no doubt invited imitations very much like the regions of Champagne, Cognac and others.

There should be no debate about the use of the name that should be confined to the Tokaji region.

A more serius problem is the continuation of the Tokaji region across the Slovanian border. This area had been baring the name Tokaji since the comunist era, using the same grape varieties and production techniques [ though segnificantly inferior quality wise ].

Thanks again for the illuminating article.

[docsconz]

Excellent article, Craig. Tokaji and Tokay Pinot Gris are amongst my favorite white wines. Tokaji is wonderful with very rich foods. I am less experienced with the Friulis, although your descriptions make me want to develop that experience. What is the aging potential of the Friulis?

[Craig Camp]

Excellent article, Craig. Tokaji and Tokay Pinot Gris are amongst my favorite white wines. Tokaji is wonderful with very rich foods. I am less experienced with the Friulis, although your descriptions make me want to develop that experience. What is the aging potential of the Friulis?

Most are ready to drink upon release up to 3 or 4 years. The best examples, like Borgo San Daniele can easily age for 5 or more. Tocai show much more complexity after at least a year in the bottle.

These wines are about fruit and balance. That means they are short term agers, but do develop into much more interesting wines with a little patience.

[ctgm]

I have been fortunate enough to have spent a short amount of time in Tokay and must say that it is one of the most unspoilt wine making regions I have ever visited. I still remember going down into a cellar cut deep into the hills. The ceiling was quite low but it twisted and turned for 100s of meters (having originally been built to hide I think from the marauding Turks).

Lovely people, lovely wine.

[Craig Camp]

and HERE is another good Friuli Tocai.

[prasantrin]

Bringing this up so I don't clutter the forum with new threads...

I tried to find the original article in the Daily Gullet archive, but to no avail (I think my eyes are just not large enough to see the tiny font). So at the risk of looking like a wine neophyte (which I am), I must ask...should tokaji be chilled? I have a bottle of 1983 Tokaji Oremus, 5 puttonyos. Past its prime, I know, but we'd still like to give it a try. But what would be the best way to drink it? Chilled or not? With or without foods?

[melkor]

It'll all come down to storage for that bottle - if the bottle has been well stored it'll be good. Stick it in the fridge overnight and pull it from the fridge 20 or 30 minutes before you serve it. The wine being from the communist era is going to be far more oxidized than current bottles - I'd serve it with some nuts or a simple dessert.

[prasantrin]

It'll all come down to storage for that bottle - if the bottle has been well stored it'll be good.  Stick it in the fridge overnight and pull it from the fridge 20 or 30 minutes before you serve it.  The wine being from the communist era is going to be far more oxidized than current bottles - I'd serve it with some nuts or a simple dessert.

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Thanks! It's in the fridge as I type. I bought it in Budapest last summer, from a well-reputed wine shop. I would assume they stored it properly, but once it was in my hands...well, that's a different story! When I bought it, the gentleman at the store said it should be opened within a month or two, but not being big wine drinkers, combined with putting the bottle in a closet in an unused room, meant a year passing before finding it again. Oops!

Thanks again...tomorrow will be the big drinking day!

[Craig Camp]

The 1983 Tokaji Oremus, 5 puttonyos is not past its prime. The director of Oremus was the director of the former communist cooperative that produced Tokaji and was able to select the finest wines to be acquired by the new Oremus label, which by the way, is the property of the great Vega Sicilia of Spain.

I have had the pleasure of this wine several times including in the cellars at Oremus and it is a lovely bottle. A Tokaji with 5 puttonyos is so sweet it can last almost forever, so a 83 is not past its prime, but only warming up. Don't serve it too cold as it will kill many of the nuances of this fine bottle. I would suggest cool celler temperature, or about 45 degrees.

I would recommend it with some fine cheeses and nuts to highlight the flavors.

[Andre]

I am with Craig on this one.

Yet,

I would never buy a wine from someone who tells you to drink it within a month or so.

Try the "Tokaji Exclusif" wine shop in Budapest - those guys are real professionals.

[Jon Tseng]

What everyone else said:

Yes lightly chilled will be fine

Oremus should be decent if - as everyone says - pretty oxidised and potentially paturised to boot (have a bottle of the 81 6-putts at home waiting for the right moment). Think sweet sherry and lots of acidity.

Nuts, blue cheese and goose liver pate (ideally foie gras) are the classic accompaniments

It should be pretty sweet (tokajis generally run to much higher residual sugar than, say, sauternes) so will be stand up to some relatively sweet puddings if you so choose

cheers

J

I  am with Craig on this one.

Yet,

I would never buy a wine from someone who tells you to drink it within a month or so.

Try the "Tokaji Exclusif" wine shop in Budapest - those guys are real professionals.

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[prasantrin]

Interesting! I bought the wine at Boutique des Vins in Budapest, which I thought was a reputable wine shop. The gentleman helping us certainly seemed knowledgeable, but being a wine neophyte--actually, I would fall into a category a few steps below neophyte--it doesn't take much to impress me with knowledge about wine . I must admit, though, I chose the shop based on a comment in a guidebook. No ordinary guidebook (Budapst: A Critical Guide by Andras Torok), but a guidebook, nonetheless!

I'm going to open it by the end of the week, and have it along with some cheeses and nuts. We have a big family event this week, so it will fit perfectly into the party plans!