Château Dereszla, Henye Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos, 2017 - 50cl

Grapes

Furmint, Hárslevelű

Vintage report

Tokaj in 2017 was shaped by a warm, dry growing season that delivered concentrated, ripe fruit — but not without its anxieties. Spring frosts caused localised damage across Hungary that year, and summer heat put pressure on water reserves in the volcanic soils of the Tokaj-Hegyalja hills. The saving grace was a dry, sunny autumn that allowed growers to hold their nerve, pick at leisure, and — crucially for the region's great sweet wines — wait for botrytis to develop properly on the Furmint and Hárslevelű. Not every producer got the conditions they wanted for noble rot, which means 2017 is a stronger year for dry Furmint than for the upper echelons of Aszú.

The dry wines, frankly, are the story here. Furmint from 2017 has real presence — the acidity that makes the variety so compelling is there, but it is wrapped in richer, more generous fruit than you get in cooler years, giving the wines an immediacy that makes them rewarding now without sacrificing their capacity to age. The Aszú wines that were made tend towards ripeness and warmth rather than the piercing tension of a great botrytis vintage. Drink dry 2017s now with pleasure; the Aszús reward patience and are best left until 2025 at the earliest, ideally longer for the serious bottlings.