Tokaj (Tokaj-Hegyalja)

Dry Tokaji: crisp, mineral Furmint and floral Hárslevelű - the everyday local white.

Now well over half of what Tokaj makes. Unoaked versions are lime-and-apple fresh, like a dry Riesling or Loire Chenin; estate and oaked versions add body and nutty depth. The best value in the region.

Now well over half of what Tokaj makes. Unoaked versions are lime-and-apple fresh, like a dry Riesling or Loire Chenin; estate and oaked versions add body and nutty depth. The best value in the region.

Furmint: Tokaj's star - piercing acidity, apple and lime young, honey and nuts with age.

Most of Tokaj is Furmint. Late-ripening and prone to noble rot, it is the backbone of Aszú, but its high acidity and stony depth also make serious dry wine. Think dry Riesling crossed with white Burgundy.

Most of Tokaj is Furmint. Late-ripening and prone to noble rot, it is the backbone of Aszú, but its high acidity and stony depth also make serious dry wine. Think dry Riesling crossed with white Burgundy.

Chicken paprikash with dry Furmint or Hárslevelű.

Hungary's creamy paprika chicken needs a white with enough acidity and body to handle the sauce. A dry estate Furmint does it; a Hárslevelű adds a spicy echo.

Hungary's creamy paprika chicken needs a white with enough acidity and body to handle the sauce. A dry estate Furmint does it; a Hárslevelű adds a spicy echo.

Tokaji Aszú: the legendary sweet wine - apricot, marmalade, honey, bright acidity.

Made by soaking hand-picked noble-rot berries in a base wine, then ageing in oak. Every Aszú is now genuinely sweet; 6 puttonyos is the richer version. Sold in 50 cl bottles and built to age for decades.

Made by soaking hand-picked noble-rot berries in a base wine, then ageing in oak. Every Aszú is now genuinely sweet; 6 puttonyos is the richer version. Sold in 50 cl bottles and built to age for decades.

Aszú '5 puttonyos' is rich; '6 puttonyos' richer. 3 or 4 = older bottle.

Every new Tokaji Aszú is properly sweet. The optional number on the label tells you how rich: 6 puttonyos is noticeably sweeter than 5. A 3- or 4-puttonyos bottle was made under the old rules, so it is an older, lighter wine.

Every new Tokaji Aszú is properly sweet. The optional number on the label tells you how rich: 6 puttonyos is noticeably sweeter than 5. A 3- or 4-puttonyos bottle was made under the old rules, so it is an older, lighter wine.

Tokaji pezsgő: traditional-method sparkling Furmint - the local celebration bottle.

Furmint's high acidity makes crisp, lemony bubbly with toasty notes from bottle ageing. Tokaj sparkling is made in the bottle, like Champagne. Order it instead of imported fizz.

Furmint's high acidity makes crisp, lemony bubbly with toasty notes from bottle ageing. Tokaj sparkling is made in the bottle, like Champagne. Order it instead of imported fizz.

Szamorodni ('as it comes'): Tokaj's own style, dry and nutty or sweet and rich.

Made from whole bunches picked with whatever noble rot they carry. Száraz (dry) can taste a bit like a Fino sherry - nutty, salty, honeyed; édes (sweet) is a lighter, cheaper cousin of Aszú. A great local glass that's rare abroad.

Made from whole bunches picked with whatever noble rot they carry. Száraz (dry) can taste a bit like a Fino sherry - nutty, salty, honeyed; édes (sweet) is a lighter, cheaper cousin of Aszú. A great local glass that's rare abroad.

River mists bring noble rot - the secret of sweet Tokaji.

Autumn fogs from the Bodrog and Tisza rivers, followed by warm sunny afternoons, let a beneficial mould shrivel the grapes. Water evaporates and sugar and acid concentrate, giving the honey, apricot and marmalade flavours of sweet Tokaji.

Autumn fogs from the Bodrog and Tisza rivers, followed by warm sunny afternoons, let a beneficial mould shrivel the grapes. Water evaporates and sugar and acid concentrate, giving the honey, apricot and marmalade flavours of sweet Tokaji.

A dűlő name means one vineyard - Tokaj ranked its sites in the 1700s.

Tokaj classified its vineyards into first, second and third class in the 18th century, one of the oldest vineyard rankings anywhere. Today there is no region-wide cru law, but producers print the vineyard (dűlő) name on their best dry and sweet wines - Szent Tamás, Úrágya, Betsek, Mézes Mály, Kapi.

Tokaj classified its vineyards into first, second and third class in the 18th century, one of the oldest vineyard rankings anywhere. Today there is no region-wide cru law, but producers print the vineyard (dűlő) name on their best dry and sweet wines - Szent Tamás, Úrágya, Betsek, Mézes Mály, Kapi.

Eszencia: free-run nectar of aszú berries - syrup-sweet, barely alcoholic, nearly immortal.

Only the juice that seeps from piled aszú berries under their own weight. It takes years to ferment, rarely passes 5-6% alcohol and can stay fresh for a century or more. Tiny, rare and expensive - often sipped from a spoon.

Only the juice that seeps from piled aszú berries under their own weight. It takes years to ferment, rarely passes 5-6% alcohol and can stay fresh for a century or more. Tiny, rare and expensive - often sipped from a spoon.

Aszú: shrivelled berries soaked in base wine, then aged in oak.

Hand-picked aszú berries are steeped for roughly 12-60 hours in a base wine or fermenting must, pressed, and aged in cask. Whole berries are preferred over the old paste to avoid bitterness.

Hand-picked aszú berries are steeped for roughly 12-60 hours in a base wine or fermenting must, pressed, and aged in cask. Whole berries are preferred over the old paste to avoid bitterness.

Dry Szamorodni can age under a flor-like yeast veil, like Fino.

Casks are left part-empty so a film of yeast forms on top of the dry wine. It protects the wine and adds walnut, bread and salty notes - a rare shared trait with sherry.

Casks are left part-empty so a film of yeast forms on top of the dry wine. It protects the wine and adds walnut, bread and salty notes - a rare shared trait with sherry.

Barta Furmint Pezsgő: Mád hillside fruit in a traditional-method sparkler.

One of Tokaj's best sparkling Furmints, from a top Mád grower.

One of Tokaj's best sparkling Furmints, from a top Mád grower.

Barta (Mád): steep Öreg Király vineyard - Furmint and a must-try Hárslevelű.

A good-value Mád estate and one of the village's leading producers. Its Öreg Király Hárslevelű is a must-have bottle.

Barta is a Mád estate built around Öreg Király, a historic terraced vineyard on the hill above the village. It is highly regarded, good value and one of Mád's leading producers. Two single-vineyard dry wines carry the name: Öreg Király Furmint, among the best dry Tokaji, and Öreg Király Hárslevelű, a must-have - a good bottle for anyone who thinks Hárslevelű is only a blending grape. Barta also makes Szamorodni, Aszú and a fine sparkling Furmint. A strong choice when you want top-site quality without the scarcity of the most famous names.

Gróf Degenfeld (Tarcal): a reference Szamorodni and a botrytis Furmint.

Its Szamorodni and its Andante botrytis Furmint are the estate's best wines. The range covers dry Furmint, late harvest and Aszú too.

Gróf Degenfeld is a highly regarded Tarcal estate, and two wines stand out: its Szamorodni and Andante, a sweet Furmint made from botrytised grapes. That makes it a good address for the in-between styles that rarely leave Hungary. Beyond those, it makes a single-vineyard dry Furmint from the Zomborka site, a Hárslevelű, a late harvest and Aszú, plus an organic line and sparkling wine. Tasting the Szamorodni next to the late harvest and the Aszú is a quick lesson in how berry selection, rather than grape variety, drives Tokaj's sweet styles. The estate also has a hotel and sits below a hilltop chapel walk, useful for planning a later visit.

Szepsy: Szent Tamás and Úrágya Furmint - the wines that launched dry Tokaj.

Tokaj's top tier. István Szepsy's dry Furmint from Úrágya in 2000 set off Tokaj's dry revolution; the Szent Tamás Furmint is a reference wine.

If one name explains modern Tokaj, it is Szepsy of Mád, at the very top of the region. In 2000 István Szepsy made a dry Furmint from Úrágya, and it showed that Tokaj's volcanic slopes could give world-class dry whites. Today the family's single-vineyard Furmints, above all Szent Tamás and Úrágya, are reference wines: concentrated, mineral, high in acidity and built for a decade or more. The family also works on Furmint's clonal diversity, and its selections have spread across the region. Volumes are small and the winery does not receive the public, so look for the wines on Mád restaurant lists and in Budapest wine shops.

Disznókő: polished classic Aszú; the Kapi single-vineyard 6 puttonyos is the peak.

A historic estate owned by AXA Millésimes and one of Tokaj's leading houses. Its Kapi vineyard Aszú is released only in top years.

Disznókő is a historic Tokaj estate now owned by AXA Millésimes. It ranks among Tokaj's leading houses and is good value for its class. The estate's vineyard is recorded as far back as 1413. Its regular 5 and 6 puttonyos Aszú are textbook: clean, bright and balanced rather than heavy. The collector bottle is the Kapi single-vineyard 6 puttonyos, from a south-facing volcanic slope of Furmint, picked in several passes and made only in exceptional years - 1999, 2005 and 2011 were the first releases, in small numbered runs. If you want one Aszú that shows what a classic house does, start with the 5 puttonyos; for a gift or a cellar, Kapi.

Royal Tokaji: Mád single-vineyard Aszú - Mézes Mály, Betsek, Szent Tamás.

One of Tokaj's leading houses, based in Mád. Its single-vineyard 6 puttonyos wines from historic first-class sites are the collector's set.

Royal Tokaji, based in Mád, is a reference sweet-wine house and one of the village's leading producers. Its strength is the single-vineyard Aszú range: 6 puttonyos bottlings from Mézes Mály, Betsek, Nyulászó and Szent Tamás, labelled as first-growth sites in recognition of the 18th-century classification. Tasting two of them side by side is the easiest way to understand how much site matters even in a sweet wine. The company also makes a dry Mézes Mály Furmint, one of Tokaj's best dry wines. Look for both the sweet and dry single-vineyard wines in Mád's wine bars and shops.

Bott: small family winery; the Csontos Furmint is a grower's gem.

Judit Bott's family cellar is one of the small producers that led Tokaj's dry turn; its Csontos single-vineyard Furmint is among the best dry Tokaji.

Bott is the kind of address that shows Tokaj's grower side. Judit Bott's family cellar belongs to the small group of family producers - alongside Demeter, Balassa, Berecz and Bárdos - who drove Tokaj's move from sweet to dry wine, and its Csontos Furmint ranks among the best dry Tokaji. Csontos is a single vineyard, and the wine is a good example of the textured, site-driven dry Furmint that small cellars now make: more personality than polish. Bott is a newer, smaller name than the big estates, so it is easier to find in Tokaj and Budapest than abroad. It fits the off-the-beaten-path slot in any Tokaj tasting next to an estate Furmint from a bigger house, and it shows how much character a small grower can draw from one site.

Mád runs its own stricter village and vineyard rules on top of Tokaji.

The village of Mád is the only Tokaj community that has brought back a vineyard-level origin system, with its own village and single-vineyard rules. Elsewhere a vineyard name is the producer's promise.

Tokaj's PDO rules say a lot about how sweet wines are made, but nothing about which dry style a producer should pursue, and there is no region-wide single-vineyard tier. Mád, home to many of the most admired growers, went further on its own: the village registered its own origin scheme with a village level and a vineyard level, tightening rules for wines that carry the Mád name and a named dűlő. Other communities have not followed with legal tiers, so outside Mád a vineyard name is the producer's promise rather than a regulated grade. For the buyer this means two things: in Mád the name on the label carries extra rules, and everywhere else the producer's reputation matters more than the site name alone.

River mists bring noble rot - the secret of sweet Tokaji.

Autumn fogs from the Bodrog and Tisza rivers, followed by warm sunny afternoons, let a beneficial mould shrivel the grapes. Water evaporates and sugar and acid concentrate, giving the honey, apricot and marmalade flavours of sweet Tokaji.

Autumn fogs from the Bodrog and Tisza rivers, followed by warm sunny afternoons, let a beneficial mould shrivel the grapes. Water evaporates and sugar and acid concentrate, giving the honey, apricot and marmalade flavours of sweet Tokaji.

In the glass: Concentrated sweetness with apricot, orange peel and honey, kept fresh by high acidity

Volcanic hillsides give tension and a stony, savoury edge.

Tokaj's vineyards climb the volcanic foothills of the Zemplén mountains. Slope, exposure and soil change from site to site, which is why single-vineyard wines taste distinct, and the volcanic rock is often linked to the wines' firm, mineral feel.

Tokaj's vineyards climb the volcanic foothills of the Zemplén mountains. Slope, exposure and soil change from site to site, which is why single-vineyard wines taste distinct, and the volcanic rock is often linked to the wines' firm, mineral feel.

In the glass: Firm structure, high acidity and a savoury, stony finish in dry Furmint

Hand-picking shrivelled berries one by one is what makes Aszú costly.

Pickers pass through the same vineyard several times, picking single botrytised (aszú) berries separately from healthy bunches and part-rotten ones. That slow, careful work is what you pay for in a bottle of Aszú.

Pickers pass through the same vineyard several times, picking single botrytised (aszú) berries separately from healthy bunches and part-rotten ones. That slow, careful work is what you pay for in a bottle of Aszú.

In the glass: Purer, more concentrated sweet wines; the selection sets each wine's style

Cool cellars cut into volcanic rock, and small local oak casks.

Tokaj's historic cellars are hand-carved into the hillsides, keeping wines cool and humid, and sweet wines traditionally age in small Hungarian-oak 'Gönc' casks of about 136 litres. Long, slow cask ageing gives Aszú its amber depth.

Tokaj's historic cellars are hand-carved into the hillsides, keeping wines cool and humid, and sweet wines traditionally age in small Hungarian-oak 'Gönc' casks of about 136 litres. Long, slow cask ageing gives Aszú its amber depth.

In the glass: Slow, steady maturation; nutty, dried-fruit depth in sweet wines

Aszú: shrivelled berries soaked in base wine, then aged in oak.

Hand-picked aszú berries are steeped for roughly 12-60 hours in a base wine or fermenting must, pressed, and aged in cask. Whole berries are preferred over the old paste to avoid bitterness.

Hand-picked aszú berries are steeped for roughly 12-60 hours in a base wine or fermenting must, pressed, and aged in cask. Whole berries are preferred over the old paste to avoid bitterness.

In the glass: Layers dried apricot and marmalade sweetness onto a fresh, acidic wine; more berries = richer wine

Dry Szamorodni can age under a flor-like yeast veil, like Fino.

Casks are left part-empty so a film of yeast forms on top of the dry wine. It protects the wine and adds walnut, bread and salty notes - a rare shared trait with sherry.

Casks are left part-empty so a film of yeast forms on top of the dry wine. It protects the wine and adds walnut, bread and salty notes - a rare shared trait with sherry.

In the glass: Nutty, salty, sherry-like tang on a dry, full-bodied white

Steel for fresh dry Furmint, barrels for the serious single-vineyard ones.

Entry dry wines are blends from several vineyards, unoaked and crisp. Single-vineyard bottlings are usually fermented or aged in oak for texture and length - check the back label if you want one style or the other.

Entry dry wines are blends from several vineyards, unoaked and crisp. Single-vineyard bottlings are usually fermented or aged in oak for texture and length - check the back label if you want one style or the other.

In the glass: Steel = zesty, apple-lime; oak = rounder, creamier, nutty

Quality pezsgő is made in the bottle, like Champagne.

Tokaj's sparkling wine gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in bottle and time on the yeast, which adds toast and brioche to Furmint's lemony acidity.

Tokaj's sparkling wine gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in bottle and time on the yeast, which adds toast and brioche to Furmint's lemony acidity.

In the glass: Fine bubbles, toast and brioche notes over Furmint's lemony acidity

The modern trend: full casks and fresher, less oxidative sweet wines.

Older Aszú was aged in part-filled casks for years and tasted of caramel and dried fruit. Many producers now fill casks completely and age for a shorter time, keeping sweet wines brighter and fruitier.

Two schools of sweet Tokaji sit side by side. The traditional style aged Aszú for years in partly filled Gönc casks in the cool rock cellars, so the wine took on oxidative notes of caramel, toffee, dried fruit and nuts, and a deep amber colour. Since the 1990s many estates have moved to completely filled casks and shorter ageing to keep apricot, citrus and floral freshness at the front. Neither style is better; ask a producer which way they lean. Some houses, such as Holdvölgy with its long-held 6-puttonyos release, still bet on time, while others release brighter wines earlier.

In the glass: Full casks = fresh apricot and citrus; long oxidative ageing = caramel, nuts, dried fruit

Staple: an estate dry Furmint - the wine you'll keep reordering.

A dry Furmint from a reliable house such as Kikelet, Dobogó or Barta gives the Tokaj taste at an everyday price. Bring two - one to open, one to age a few years.

A dry Furmint from a reliable house such as Kikelet, Dobogó or Barta gives the Tokaj taste at an everyday price. Bring two - one to open, one to age a few years.

Splurge-worthy dry: a single-vineyard Furmint from Mád.

Szepsy's Szent Tamás, Barta's Öreg Király or Demeter's Boda are world-class whites still priced below their peers. Hard to find abroad.

Szepsy's Szent Tamás, Barta's Öreg Király or Demeter's Boda are world-class whites still priced below their peers. Hard to find abroad.

Gift bottle: a 50 cl Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos from a top house.

Disznókő, Royal Tokaji or Oremus Aszú travels well, lasts decades and makes a memorable present. Single-vineyard versions (Kapi, Mézes Mály) are the celebration upgrade.

Disznókő, Royal Tokaji or Oremus Aszú travels well, lasts decades and makes a memorable present. Single-vineyard versions (Kapi, Mézes Mály) are the celebration upgrade.

Local find: dry or sweet Szamorodni - rarely exported.

Few shops abroad stock Szamorodni, so this is the bottle that says 'I was there'. Try Gróf Degenfeld or Gizella.

Few shops abroad stock Szamorodni, so this is the bottle that says 'I was there'. Try Gróf Degenfeld or Gizella.

Bubbles: a traditional-method Tokaji pezsgő instead of Champagne.

Tokaj Nobilis, Kikelet, Barta or Sauska make crisp, toasty sparkling Furmint - great value and a talking point.

Tokaj Nobilis, Kikelet, Barta or Sauska make crisp, toasty sparkling Furmint - great value and a talking point.

Easy sweet: a late harvest for dessert at home.

Fresher and more affordable than Aszú, and ready to drink - a good everyday sweet wine.

Fresher and more affordable than Aszú, and ready to drink - a good everyday sweet wine.