Tokaji Eszenszia Disznoko 1988

"Nils Gustaf Lindgren" skrev i en meddelelse news:Ciqke.25370$ snipped-for-privacy@newsb.telia.net...

Truely a nice site, if it just was in english! Why is there no option to choose english there Nils???

Regards/Hilsen

Kenneth Olsen

This wine most likely was made by the state and selected by Disznoko after they moved in. I am troubled by the price. A true Tokaji Eszencia of high quality is likely to sell for much more than the estimated price you quote. The price is more in line with Tokaji Aszu Eszencia. I have seen mix-ups by wine companies that do not notice the slight difference in name, but extreme difference in quality. So far as I know, the last qreat traditional true Eszencia that was made and sold to the public was the 1945. Some of the new wave companies are making Eszencia, but it will take about 50 years before we know the true quality of some of this new wave Tokaji. Even if the wine is Tokaji Aszu Essencia, this is a very rich wine. I have not tasted the one you mentioned. I would expect fruit, dry fruit, and a bit of caramel, Some wines from this era are quite good although not as good as they could be. Just don't expect a clone of Sauternes - the taste is qute different.

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Hi Nils,

Some time ago the Finnish Alko had the 1988 Disznökö Aszu Eszencia (SP?) for sale at an outrageously low price (if memory serves me right, around

Anyway, it's about everything you could expect from a Borkombinat era Tokaji, just more so (MUCH more so).

Very good, sweet (very), raisins and other dried fruit, with good balanced finish and an incredibly long aftertaste. Oxidation, yes, but really no more than in any of the other Tokajis of the time.

If you have the chance, I recommend trying it with vanilla ice cream and cloudberry jam. Or just by itself; it's a really rich wine.

Cheers,

-Topi Kuusinen, Finland

PS: I briefly visited Stockholm last week and went to the Systembolaget at Regeringsgatan. I envy you for the choice you have there. Despite the propaganda of the Finnish monopoly, Alko, their wine assortment is very predictable and highly uninteresting.

I was returning home from a motorcycle trip, so space was at a premium. Otherwise I would have bought a couple of bottles of 2001 Geheimrat "J" Riesling Spätlese Trocken (199 SEK, if I remember correctly), now I just packed a couple of bottles of late '90s six putt Tokaji.

I certainly appreciate your thoughtful and knowledgable answer. I know what a Tokaji Aszu is, and (I believe) I know what Eszenszia is - but Aszu Eszenszia? Could you explain the term?

Nils Gustaf

Excellent, Topi - I´ll make a bid for one or two bottles. Can´t afford it, but, hey! you shouldn´t let a little thing like that stop you, what?

As for finding a good assortment in a Swedish Systembolaget, well, more power to you for doing so. Here, in the Southern outback, any wine of quality is picked up seconds after it is released, with no chance of making supplementary orders. If the Alko is worse ...

Perhaps I am a bit spoilt. Used to be you could buy fairly old Rieslings, by which I mean Wehlener Sonnenuhr 1982, or other really good stuff from the

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

"I certainly appreciate your thoughtful and knowledgable answer. I know what a Tokaji Aszu is, and (I believe) I know what Eszenszia is - but Aszu Eszenszia? Could you explain the term?"

Here you go. These are present specifications. I took the numbers from a Hungarian supplement to Decanter published just this year.

Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttonyos - 60g+ residual sugar;

Tokaji Asqu Eszencia - 180g+ residual sugar.

Tokaji Eszencia. Seldom seen and very expensive. The free run juice that falls to the bottom of a vat of botrytised grapes. It is extrremely high in sugar(800 grams per liter is not too unusual). Because of the extreme sugar content, it sedom ferments to over 2 or 3 percent alcohol. It must have at least 450 g of sugar per liter to be called Tokaji Eszencia.

Szamorodni is produced from both normal and overripe grapes that are not separated. It can be dry or sweet with at least 30 g or residual sugar.

There are other styles including Maslas and Forditas that are seldom found in most export markets.

So Tokaji Eszencia is a much better and more costly wine than Tokaji Aszu Eszencia, much in the way that Chambertin is a much better wine than Gevrey Chambertin.

A true 1945 Eszencia that was imported to Austria names the wine on the label as: "Ung.Tokayer Essenz Anno 1945". There has been considerable variation of the spelling of Eszencia on labels at different times in diferent countries. For example, the Baron Beust of Tallya wine imported into the UK in 1938 by Berry Bros. gives "1888 Vintage Tokay Essence" on the label.

A 1957 Aszu Eszencia from Monimpex is labeled "Tokaji Aszu" on the top line and "Esszencia" on the second line. By the way, this 1957 is one of the better wines sold by Monimpex.

Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .

Nils, since many people in your part of Europe can read German, I am guessing that you likely can. Thus you might like to read a quote from the back label of the 1945 Tokaji Eszencia imported into Austria that I mentioned in the last post. It is a bit pompous, but interesting. The text is tiny, and I am sure I will make a few typos.

Grosste Raritat aus den besten Weinbergen von Tokay. Eigene Abfullung der Ungarischen Staats Kellerei. Das Edelste, Vollkommenste und Seltenste, was eine Weintraube hervorbringen kann. Ein Spitzenwein von hochster Reife, hochstem Bukett und groser Frucht. Jede flasche ist amtlich versiegelt und numeriert. Die Kraft u. Wurze und die feine Art dieses Weines lasst sich nicht beschreiben.

Dieses Sonnenjahr schenkte der Menschheit diesen kostbaren Wein, wie er seitdem nicht mehr gewachsen ist. Die edlen Trockenbeeren werden uberhaupt nicht ausgepresst. Nur der konzentrierte Saft wird dazu verwendet, soweit dieser durch das Eigenewicht der Beeren von selbst, wie Honig ablauft. Das erfordert viel Zeit und Geduld und ergibt nur geringe Mengen. Die Garung dauert mehrere Jahre.

Die Ungarische Staatsregierund hat bis vor kurzem sogar dem Export dieser Raritat verboten. Diese grosse Seltenheit bildet seit Jahren die Kronung der Tafel bei Staatsempfangen von politischen Haupternaus Ost und West. Erst nach jahrelangen Verhandlungen konnte eine kleine Menge nach dem Ausland abgezweigt werden. Als Vistenkarte der Ungarischen Nation. Kein Wunder, dass die Abgabe nur in kleinsten Mengen erfolgen kann.

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