Shop Tokaji Wine: Sweet Aszú, Late Harvest and Dry Furmint

Tokaji is a wine region in northeast Hungary best known for Aszú, a sweet wine made from grapes affected by botrytis, or noble rot, though the same region also makes dry wine from the same grapes. Vineyard classification in Tokaj began in 1730, and the region became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

Tokaj, where vineyard classification began in 1730

Some sources call Tokaj the world's first classified wine region, but that claim is disputed: Chianti had already marked out its own zone by 1716. What's settled is that Tokaj's classification dates to 1730, and today the region covers 28 named villages in northeast Hungary, between the Zemplén hills and the Bodrog and Tisza rivers.

Furmint, Hárslevelű and Yellow Muscat

Six grapes can legally go into Tokaji: Furmint, which makes up about 60% of plantings, Hárslevelű at roughly 25%, Yellow Muscat, and three rarer grapes, Kabar, Kövérszőlő and Zéta. Furmint carries high acidity and thin skin that takes botrytis easily, which is why it drives both the sweet Aszú and the dry wines in this guide.

My first great Tokaji was an Eszencia, probably back in 2000. I didn't know at the time that Eszencia sits above the puttonyos scale entirely. It's closer to a nectar than a wine.

Leo, Founder & Curator

Tokaji Aszú tastes of dried apricot, orange marmalade, honey and saffron, with acidity high enough that it never feels cloying; dry Furmint is closer to a mineral, citrus-driven white. The common thread across every style is that acidity, which is what keeps a very sweet Aszú feeling fresh rather than heavy.

Why high acidity keeps Tokaji fresh

Furmint ripens with some of the highest natural acidity of any white grape, and botrytis concentrates that acidity right alongside the sugar. That balance is why a 120 g/L Aszú can taste bright rather than syrupy, and why Tokaji ages for decades without losing its shape.

Dry Furmint: Tokaji without the sugar

Dry Furmint shows citrus, green apple, pear and sometimes white peach, often with a mineral or faintly saline edge. It is fermented fully dry, with none of the botrytis character of Aszú, and it is the style most people have never heard of.

Tokaji Aszú is made from grapes picked berry by berry once botrytis has shriveled them and concentrated their sugar. Since the 2013 harvest every Aszú must reach at least 120 g/L of residual sugar, and it has to age at least 18 months in oak before release.

Botrytis and hand-picked aszú berries

Pickers walk the rows several times each autumn, selecting only the berries that noble rot has shriveled into something closer to raisins than grapes. It is slow, expensive work, and it is the reason Aszú costs more than an ordinary dessert wine.

Puttonyos explained: sugar levels then and now

Puttonyos once referred to the wooden hods of aszú berries added to a base wine; today it mostly communicates a level of concentration. A wine labeled Aszú needs at least 120 g/L of sugar, and a "6 puttonyos" label needs at least 150 g/L, though printing the number on the label is optional.

Today, puttonyos is mainly a way to communicate a level of concentration. Five puttonyos is already a seriously rich sweet wine. But more sugar doesn't automatically mean better wine. The important thing is how that sweetness is balanced by acidity.

Leo, Founder & Curator

Tokaji Aszú 5 puttonyos vs. 6 puttonyos

For someone discovering Tokaji, I'd start with a 5 puttonyos bottle: you get the dried apricot, honey, citrus peel and acidity that make Aszú special without spending twice as much. I'd move up to 6 puttonyos for someone who already loves Tokaji, wants a special gift, or is curious about a specific vineyard. My rule: five puttonyos is already a great wine, and six is for a particular experience, not a bigger number on the label.

Tokaji covers more ground than most people expect, from bone-dry Furmint to Eszencia, a nectar so concentrated it barely ferments. We go style by style below, and we're upfront about which ones we don't currently have in stock.

Tokaji Aszú

Aszú is the wine most people mean when they say Tokaji: at least 120 g/L of sugar, 18 months in oak, and the dried apricot and honey character this region is known for.

Tokaji Eszencia

Eszencia needs at least 450 g/L of sugar and tops out around 6% alcohol, since the sugar is so concentrated that fermentation barely starts. It is the rarest, most expensive style, and we don't currently carry a bottle: our last one sold out.

Szamorodni, dry and sweet

Szamorodni means "as it comes": healthy and botrytised grapes are picked and pressed together, unsorted, which gives either a dry wine (up to 9 g/L) or a sweet one (at least 45 g/L), both aged at least 6 months in oak. We don't currently have a Szamorodni in stock, but it is worth knowing if you see one elsewhere.

Late harvest Tokaji

Late harvest needs only 45 g/L of sugar and no required aging, which makes it the easiest, most affordable way into sweet Tokaji. It's less concentrated than Aszú, with honey and apricot but a lighter touch.

Dry Furmint

Dry Furmint is fermented fully dry, with the same high acidity and mineral edge that makes Aszú age so well, but none of the sugar.

Single-vineyard (dűlő) Tokaji

As in Burgundy, some producers bottle a single named vineyard, or dűlő, instead of a regional blend. Royal Tokaji's Szent Tamás and Oremus's Mandolás are both single-vineyard wines, built around one specific site rather than a house style.

Good Tokaji starts under $50, the sweet spot for Aszú sits between $60 and $90, and above $100 you're often paying for a single vineyard or an older vintage. This collection runs from a $45.50 late harvest to a $131.94 single-vineyard Aszú, so every level is covered.

Royal Tokaji, Oremus and the Tokaj revival

Royal Tokaji was founded in Mád in 1990 by a group that included the wine writer Hugh Johnson, part of the wave of producers who rebuilt the region after communism. Vega Sicilia bought its own Tokaj estate in 1993 and renamed it Oremus, bringing one of Spain's most respected names into Hungary.

Under $70: late harvest, dry Furmint and 5 puttonyos

Oremus Late Harvest and Oremus Mandolás, a dry Furmint, both sit under $70, alongside the Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos Red Label at $60. This is where I'd point someone trying Tokaji for the first time.

Single vineyards and older vintages

Above $100, Royal Tokaji's Szent Tamás and Oremus's own Aszú 5 Puttonyos move from a regional blend to a single named vineyard, and Tokaj-Hétszőlő's 2010 is the oldest vintage currently in the collection.

How to choose the best Tokaji for a gift

If the gift is about discovery, I'd choose the Red Label or Mandolás. If it's about recognition, for someone who already loves Tokaji, I'd choose Szent Tamás or a single-vineyard Oremus.

Tokaji Aszú pairs best with rich, intense dishes like foie gras and blue cheese, because its acidity balances the sugar instead of letting it taste merely sweet; dry Furmint works more like a classic dry white, with seafood.

How Leo serves Tokaji

For Tokaji Aszú, I keep my serving temperature around 48 to 54°F. I don't want it ice-cold, because that can hide its complexity. I pour into a small white wine glass rather than a tiny cordial glass, and I keep my pours modest, around two ounces. Dry Furmint is different: I drop my temperature to around 46 to 52°F, in a regular white wine glass.

How long Tokaji lasts once opened

Once opened, I refrigerate an Aszú right away and keep it tightly closed; in my experience a good one can often remain enjoyable for a couple of weeks, sometimes longer, though I'd always check its freshness. Dry Furmint is different: I keep my own habit of finishing it within three to five days, refrigerated.