White Hungary over £10

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Tokajicum Darázskő Dry Furmint 2009

For several years I’ve been a convert to the cause of Furmint as a grape in the premier league with its Riesling-like ability to reflect terroir in a range of styles from steely and dry, to gorgeously sweet. Serious dry versions of Tokaji are relatively new kids on the block compared to the world famous sweeties but no less deserving of praise.

This beautifully balanced, mineral rich version from Tokajicum is fine, elegant and lingering, with delicate notes of white peach and lemon. Darázskő actually means “wasp rock” a local name for the outcrops of volcanic limestone tufa that resembles wasp nests, but also gives a complex mineral backbone to the wines.

2009 is the first vintage made by the current winemaker – Janos Fogl, a young man who graduated in Hungary but then cut his winemaking teeth at Ornellaia and in Ribera del Duero before returning to Hungary to work in Tokaj, Villány and in his family winery near Lake Balaton.

In 2009 he was persuaded to jump ship and join the team at Tokajicum, a winery founded in 2002 by three young Hungarians. It has 16 hectares of vines around the famous Tokaj villages of Mád and Tarcal.

Fogl explains, “my aim with dry Furmint is to make a big wine – reducing yields to less than 1 kilo per vine and fermenting in oak barrels. I want to show the world the unique and special terroir of the Tokaj hills.”

Ex cellars 3.60 Euros

Written by Caroline Gilby MW