Tokaji delivers tasting of a lifetime

Tokaji delivers tasting of a lifetime

For the first (and possibly the last) time ever, Royal Tokaji showed every Essencia vintage they have made to a handful of wine writers at an exceptional tasting in London. This included some of the very last bottles of their 1993 vintage, the first vintage ever produced and of which only 400 50cl bottles were made.  

Essencia is only released from the very best years so, the vintages tasted were:

1993, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 and the new 2017 to be released in October this year.

Royal Tokaji were delighted with response to the tasting which included two 100 point scores from Neal Martin (for the 2009 and 2007 vintage).

Essencia is one of the world’s rarest and most expensive wines. Individual Botrytised aszú grapes (aszú means ‘dried’ or ‘shrivelled’ in Hungarian) are picked by hand at a rate of about 5kgs per person per day. Once collected, these grapes are put into 400-litre tanks. The free run juice is collected in a process that can take up to 2 months. This liquid, released from the already dried grapes, is viscous, concentrated and incredibly high in sugar and acidity. Once collected the juice is left to ferment in glass demijohns in the Royal Tokaji cellars. The sugars are so high that fermentation can take years to achieve an ABV of 1-2%. Only in the best years will Essencia be released, and between 2,000 – 3,000 half bottles will be made on average.

Many other favourable accolades and scores arose from the tasting, a summary of which is outlined below:

About Royal Tokaji

Tokaji wines have enjoyed a long, glorious history. Louis XIV of France described them as “The wine of Kings and King of wines”, whilst Catherine the Great of Russia stationed a contingent of Cossack soldiers in the region to protect the vineyards and escort the wine on its journey to St. Petersburg. Over the years Tokaji has been a favourite wine of great writers and composers including Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, Goethe, Johann Strauss, Joseph Haydn and Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula. Today, Royal Tokaji remains in private ownership and their wines are exported to over 30 countries. They have received over 100 international awards and are regularly named as one of the finest wineries in the world.

Links:

Jancis Robinson.com:  Royal Tokaji Essencia – a vertical tasting | Jancis Robinson

Club Enologique:  Royal Tokaji Essenica: all nine vintages reviewed

Vinous : The Murakami Wine: Royal Tokaji Essencia 1993-2017 (Mar 2025) | Vinous – Explore All Things Wine

Royal Tokaji: Home – Royal Tokaji