Esszencia

There has been great variation in how "essence" is spelled on labels for many years. My bottle of 1888, Baron Beust that was imported by Berry Bros. in the UK in 1938 was labeled Tokay Essence. A bottle 0f

1827 imported into the US before WWII uses Eszencia. A bottle of 1906 that was lebeled by the state in Hungary, and came to the US via London used Aszu Esszencia on the label.

In his book Vintage Wine, on p 411 Michael broadbent notes:

"In documents and on labels the spelling would vary. I have noted Essencia, Eszencia, even Esszencia or Esszenzcia. Whether or not prefixed Aszu, the wine was generally the equivalent of 7 or slightly more puttonyos and rarely marketed in its pure state."

Broadbent gives this for Ch Pajzos Essencia 1993 bottled in 1997:

"Probably Aszu-Essencia but presumably very high putt value. Certainly glorious, intensely sweet, fat, rich and raisiny."

I have not had this wine, but a true, classic Essenzia likely would require many more than 4 years of fermentation before it was ready to bottle after reaching an alcohol level of perhaps all of 3% !

Of course variations in spelling of names from Eastern Europe when used in English speaking countries are not unique to wine. For example, there are variations in Tchaikovsky. But here the very different Russian alphabet likely is part of the reason.

As to why Ch. Pajzos decided to use the spelling you mention instead of the several others, I guess one would have to ask them to know for sure.

Especially when it comes to old "essence", it might be well to remember: "Things are not always as they seem. Skim milk(Aszu-Esszencia) masquerades as cream(Esszencia)."

I have even heard, perhaps from Hugh Johnson, that very long ago, some Aszu and/or true essence was somewhat fortified with brandy. I have also seen sparkling Montrachet listed on a restaurant wine list from the late 1880s.

This latter sentence I find puzzling. I think that there is a very real and distinct difference between Aszu Eszencia and Escenzia, the latter being restricted to the fermented free run juice from unpressed grapes (in essence [pun intended] what would bleed out of the bottom of the barrel) and as scarce as hen's teeth.

I don't see any reason why someone might not have made sparkling Montrachet in the 19th Century: there were no AOC restrictions then, and Blanc de Blancs have a long history in Champagne.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote:

Broadbent probably has tasted more true essence than any living person in Western Europe. He has had the famous 1811, that was imported into the UK in the 1930s, the true 1945, etc. I think he very well knows what he is talking about from the tastings of many of the old and recent wines that claim to be essence. I think he is saying that the mentioned wines are not nearly rich enough to be pure, free run classic essence(or perhaps a weight is being applied to produce more "free-run" juice).

The main reason is economic. Montrachet was also considered the top white Burgundy in the 1800s, and there was no need to resort to a perversion of a sparkling Montrachet to sell it at a high price for then, even if laws did not prevent that. What likely was labeled sparkling Montrachet, to bask in the glory of Montrachet, was a sparkling Puligny or Chassagne -Montrachet, if you were lucky. Since the unofficial borders of Burgundy extended to the Rhone, and perhaps to Italy and North Africa back then, your sparkling wine might even have been at least part from these regions. A few years ago I e-mailed Clive Coates about the menu from the old Delmonicos in NYC that listed sparkling Montrachet, since Coates probably knows as much about Burgundy as anyone outside of France and has met most of the main wine producers. To my surprise, Coates briefly answered to the effect that sparkling Montrachet was highly unlikely since this was before AOC laws, and everything could and did happen back them. This was during an era when control of food and drug laws was very lax in both the US and most of Europe. In the US you could buy medications over the counter that were mainly cocaine and heroin. Complexion pills containing arsenic were available. Snail juice was sometimes used to thicken and stretch cream. Lead compounds sometimes found their way into food and drugs, and on, and on. The problems became so severe in the US, that pure food and drug laws had to be passed, the federal government had to start inspecting many drugs and foods, etc. At least mislabeling of a drink or food was a minor problem on comparison to some of the dangerous foods and drugs available back then.

I once met a guy from the noble Hungarian Zichy (pronounced "zee-chy") family, they are counts. The spelling does not follow Hungarian orthography, where it should be "Zicsy". I asked him why the name of his family doesn't follow spelling rules, and his absolute inimitable answer was: "My family is older than Hungarian ortography."

M.

Probably to try to back two horses. The SOUND is Essencia, but in Hngary the sz spelling is used for that sound. It could also (just) be an attempt to pass off an Aszu-eszencia as if it were an eszencia by using the wrong spelling, rather like someone creating a wine called "chateau Lattour" in Pauillac and hoping to con people it was the real thing. ATB Ian

If I don't get on line again, Merry Christmas to one and all.