Királyudvar
Tokaji Furmint (Sec)
2006
12.5% alc.
Tokaj, Hungary
From the 16th through 18th centuries, Tokaji sweet white wines were among the most sought-after wines in the courts of Europe. The Tokaj region’s position in the northeast foothills of the Carpathian mountains, along the Tiza and Bodrog rivers, combines with the early autumn rains and long Indian summers to make viticulture ideal for the production of botrytis cinerea, the fungus responsible for creating lush dessert wines such as those found in Sauternes or Quarts de Chaume. The harvest is late. The soils are heavily volcanic, lending lots of minerality to the wines.
By the mid-20th century, however, the vineyards languished because of the devastating effects of phylloxera and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian court, its organizing patron, followed by the Second World War. The Soviet occupation only exacerbated the wines’ declining reputation, with exception, as the government encouraged quantity over quality. After the Iron Curtain’s fall, private money flocked to the Tokaj to revitalize its vineyards and restore the impressiveness of its wines.
Királyudvar means “King’s Court.” In 1999, Anthony Hwang, a private investor, restored the Királyudvar estate and its deep cellars—tunnels carved into stone. He created a state-of-the-art press room and temperature-controlled storage facilities. Along with his Lapis asuzú, a single vineyard dessert wine, the winery produces two late harvest wines, a demi-sec and a sec.
Sweet Tokaji azusú wines are the blend of primarily furmint, hárslevelü, which is a native Magyar grape, and muscat blanc à petite grains. The sec and demi-sec wines are made from overripe furmint and hárslevelü grapes after the asuzú berries, or those corrupted by botrytis and destined for the sweet wines, have been picked. While most Tokaj dry wines are fermented in stainless steel, the 2006 Királyudvar sec, blended from 70 percent furmint and 30 percent hárslevelü, was fermented in Hungarian oak. Furmint, with its wheat-gold color and high acidity, is the leading grape in Tokaji blended wines. Hárslevelü lends smoothness and spiciness to the blend. After fermentation, the wine is aged 6 months in 5 hl. Hungarian oaks barrels.
The 2006 Királyudvar sec vintage showed a pale gold color with a moderate intense aroma of tarragon, peaches, mango, baked apples and lime. The high acidity of this full-bodied wine matched well against its medium alcohol. The length was long with a citrus finish. The mouth feel had a densely woven texture and delightful viscosity. I found this wine to be a serious dry white wine that should continue to drink well for another three to five years. For $22.00, it couldn’t have been a better-value companion for the Chilean sea bass, wild brown rice and salad of frisee and green beans that I had with it. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections. 12/16/08.
