Louis XIV called Tokaji Aszú the wine of kings, and the region that produces it remains one of Europe’s most evocative wine landscapes. I arrived from Debrecen on a morning when the mist was still sitting in the river valleys — which is exactly the point, because it is this mist, rising where the Bodrog meets the Tisza, that creates the conditions for the noble rot that concentrates the grapes into liquid gold. The volcanic soil, the south-facing slopes, the centuries-old cellars carved into tufa rock: everything here conspires to produce something extraordinary.
Tasting in Tokaj is an intimate affair, and nothing like the production-line experiences I have endured in more famous wine regions. The major producers — Disznókő, Oremus, Royal Tokaji — welcome visitors, but the smaller family cellars along the main street offer the most personal experiences. A woman named Éva poured me a 2013 six-puttonyos Aszú in her cellar and watched my face as I tasted it. The wine tasted of apricot, honey, and something almost geological — the volcanic terroir expressing itself through sweetness. I must have made the right face, because she poured a second glass without asking.
Beyond Aszú — The Dry Wine Revolution
What surprised me most was the dry Furmint revolution happening alongside the famous sweet wines. Young winemakers are producing mineral-driven dry whites that have more in common with the best Chablis than with the honeyed Aszú, and the international wine press is starting to pay attention. I tasted a 2019 single-vineyard Furmint that was so precise, so expressive of its volcanic origins, that I bought a case and figured out the logistics of shipping it to Mexico later (the logistics were not simple).
The landscape beyond the cellars is quietly beautiful — vine-covered hills, walnut trees, and small villages where the pace of life matches the slow patience required to make great wine. I walked through the vineyards in late afternoon light and thought: this is what Burgundy must have felt like before the world discovered it. Come now, while the prices are still honest and the winemakers still have time to sit with you.
When to go: September through October for the harvest. May and June for green vineyards and fewer visitors.