Historic Tokaji wine auction to take place

An inaugural Tokaji wine auction is to be held this month in Hungary.

The event will take place on 27th April in the region’s historic Sárospatak castle, during the Tokaji Spring: a three day programme of wine events hosted by the new Confrérie de Tokaji, which unites many of Tokaji’s best producers.

According to the Confrérie president, each of the 22 lots going under the hammer is unique and offered in quantities equivalent to the traditional Tokaji gönci barrel of 136 litres, except the legendary elixir Eszencia which will be sold in just 10 litre quantities.

The organisers are hoping that the auction will promote the Tokaji region and raise funds to ‘help preserve this unique UNESCO heritage landscape.’

‘By purchasing one of these lots you will become the exclusive owner of a unique Tokaji wine and, at the same time, you will be participating in the restoration and enhancement of the viticultural landscape of Tokaji,’ Istvan Szepsy, the Confrérie President told decanter.com.

Some of the wines to be auctioned include Szepsy Nyulászó 58 from a parcel planted in 1928 and hand tended throughout the season by István Szepsy himself, and Tinon’s dry Szamorodni.

Other highlights include wines from Royal Tokaji, Disznókő, Pajzos, Hétszőlő, Patricius, Barta and others, with rare Eszencia from Dereszla and Tinon.

Written by Caroline Gilby MW

Caroline Gilby MW is a freelance writer and consultant, specialising in Central and Eastern Europe. Among others, she currently contributes to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, The Oxford Companion to Wine, and the World Atlas of Wine, and has previously written for Dorling Kindersley’s Wines of the World, The Wine Opus, and Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report. Prior to her career as a writer, Gilby spent seven years as a senior wine buyer at Augustus Barnet off-licences, where she became the first major buyer to import Hungarian wines to the UK. She initially studied plant biology, in which she holds a doctorate, but abandoned life behind the microscope for a career in wine soon after winning the Decanter-Macallan Malt Whisky Taster of the Year Award while still a student. Gilby passed her MW in 1992 and has been visiting and tasting the wines of Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Romania for over 20 years.