Furmint

One of the great wines of the world is Tokaji: an historic, complex, lusciously sweet wine from the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in the north east of Hungary (the area is called Tokaj; the sweet wine is usually referred to as "Tokaji" - literally, "from Tokaj"). Hungarian wine suffered hugely under Communist rule and Tokaji was in a state of seemingly terminable decline. On the collapse of Communism in 1989, wine author Hugh Johnson helped found the Royal Tokaji Company in order to revive the great drink; such has been its success that standards of Tokaji have risen to where they once were, and the region has seen further outside investment, including from Vega Sicilia.

Tokaji is made from three different grapes: Furmint, Hárslevelű, and Sárga Muscotály (known elsewhere as Muscat). Hárslevelű gives intense smoky flavours, while Sárga Muscotály is more aromatic. The most important of the three grapes is Furmint, from which nutty, honey aromas develop as the wine matures.

The international standing of Tokaji is allowing a young generation of Hungarian winemakers to make wines in a more modern style, in particular from the Furmint grape. Rather than the traditionally sweet wines made from the grape, these wines are dry and come from vineyards planted at higher altitudes to avoid humidity. Although it's taking a while for the rest of the world to take notice, they can be quite extraordinary. 

Representatives of twelve different producers are currently visiting the USA to promote their dry wines made from Furmint, and I got a chance to taste their wines in Sonoma. Almost none of these is available in the country yet but I would have loved to have taken a bottle of each home with me.

the winemakers couldn't be present in person, but their studio portraits could

the grape

Focusing on Furmint to produce single-varietal dry wine is a recent phenomenon, only beginning in 2000 with a wine from American-owned Kiràlyudar. It's quite neutral in flavour but the wines develop pronounced nutty aromas - I found marzipan in many of the wines. It grows vigorously, ripens late, and is noticeable for a pronounced acidity and a "minerality" - not a word I like to use to describe a wine, but which denotes a dry, steely, stony quality which can't be summed up with any other word. It has long accounted for 70% of plantings in the Tokaj region, where it is still mostly grown.

All wine from Tokaj is great with food, with wines ranging from dry to the impossibly sweet Eszencia. The wines I tasted had two distinct qualities - they were either dry or off-dry and had been aged in stainless steel or for a short period in a mixture of new and old oak. This results in a range of flavours, which means that the following wines could be a perfect match with cold meats, grilled cheeses, duck breast, or even something as strong as barbequed ribs.

the wines

The tasting was divided into four flights of three, each getting progressively more complex.

flight one

good examples of Furmint without any ageing: citrus and nutty aromas
1. Kvaszinger Winery Kanyargós Furmint 2012
Fresh citrus (lime zest) with a creamy, off-dry mouth. Nice, immediate flavours with good structure.
2. Paulay Tokaji Bitangjó Furmint 2012
Pronounced, stark flavours of citrus, spice, and marzipan.
3. Tokaj-Hétszóló Vineyards Tokaji Furmint Selection 2013
Clear citrus aromas with a bit of almond nuttiness.

flight two

slightly more complex, with richer, creamier flavours and, in the case of wine 5, a touch of oak
4. Gróf Degenfeld Tokaji Furmint Zomborka 2013
Mineral citrus aromas on the nose, backed up with a peachy ripeness on the palate. Off-dry (7.8g/L), that slight sweetness coming through in the peachy flavours but off-set with a high acidity.
5. Sauska Tokaj Winery Furmint Birtok 2012
Creamy - 50% of the wine was aged in oak - and nutty, with a dry, stony, spicy palate with bitter white chocolate.
6. Basilicus Tokaji Furmint Mestervölgy Vineyard 2012
A zesty citrus nose with a touch of Sauvignon Blanc to it, but much richer on the palate with vanilla spices.

flight three

single-vineyard wines which are always aged in a mixture of new and old oak
7. Bardon Omega 2012
Rich, sweet creaminess with a marzipan nuttiness and bitter white chocolate.
8. Erzsebet Cellar Király Dúló 2012
Stinky, farmyard nose, with spices, tropical fruits, and a little bit of candied fruit. Very good acidity on the palate, with a long ripe finish. My favourite wine of the tasting and one that would be interesting to insert into a Burgundy line-up.
9. Gizella Szil-Völgy Furmint 2012
More mineral than the previous wine, with grapefruit and a creamily vanilla nose. Complex, long finish to a balanced, subtle, almost austere wine.

flight four

complex, deep expressions of single vineyards with ageing potential
10. Majoros Tokaji Furmint Agyag 2009
The oldest wine of the tasting, giving a hint of what dry Furmint tastes like with a bit of age. A rich golden colour, with developed, dried fruits (figs and prunes) on the nose; smoky, bitter, and nutty on the palate. And - not a word normally positively associated with wine - vinegar: but vinegar as an extremely complex expression of the base wine.
11. Balassa Winery Betsek Furmint Riolit 2013
Pronounced citrus and peach flavours: like a deep, oaky Sauvignon Blanc.
12. Barta Winery Old King Vineyard Furmint 2012
An incredibly nutty, pronounced nose, with a rich, round marzipan mouth and a pepper spiciness. Already some maturity to the wine; with that amount of complex nuttiness already, it's not clear where this wine will go.

"multi-faceted, pure excitement." - Barta Winery's owner Károly Barta

I've tasted dry Furmint on a couple of occasions before and been excited by the wines, but this was my first prolonged tasting of the grape. The quality was very high; the wines had a uniformly impressive acidity with a complex, nutty texture regardless of whether the wine had been aged in oak or came from a top vineyard. The Furmint grape is neutral enough in flavour to allow the character of both the winemaker and the vineyard to shine. Although I would not wish attention to be drawn away from the historic sweet wines of the region, these dry wines can give Tokaj - and Hungary - a new audience.

Furmint on a sunny afternoon