Tokaji, 5 Putts

#3 from the WG (#1, #2)

1995 Domaine Disznoko Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos ($50)
Clear, deep gold fading to a very thin watery rim, and long legs. Clean, with a pronounced, slightly oxidative nose, and a spicy, floral, orange marmalade and honey quality. Botrytis is apparent. Sweet, but balanced by crisp acidity. Full-bodied, with a viscous mouthfeel and pronounced palate similar to the nose, with lots of apricot and orange fruit and spice. Medium alcohol, with a long length and finish. An excellent quality Tokaji Aszu from the traditional grapes - furmint and harslevelu. With such acidity and fruit concentration, this gem will age indefinitely.

Comments

[Lenn]

I've seen "oxidative nose" quite a bit lately in reviews...but I'll admit to not being sure exactly what is meant by it...any insight Beau?

[Beau]

My best effort: Take a dry Sherry (Fino, Manzanilla) or Madeira. Pour. Sniff. You'll get a woody-nutty-some might say-turpentiney scent. This is what I would describe as Oxidative nose. Bill (the Caveman) recently wrote a post on a Jura (Fr) wine, "vin Jaune." He describes the oxy-nose quality well.

Help?

btw, white wine that has a brownish hue (there's a hue!) is likely slightly oxidized.

[thecaveman]

Ah, the oxy-nose. Rancio I believe is the technical term which I believe comes from Rancid.. appetizing isn't it. This can be achieved either by overheating whites or by exposing them to oxygen (a la sherry). It turns apples brown and imparts a nutty richness in many wines. It adds texture, depth and a certain freshness on the palate (replacing acidity as the fresher picker upper)..at least that's how I see it, I hope that helps.Most cognacs have it too.

Nice post Beau. Another cool thing about Tokaji is that the good ones are stored in special cellars that are covered with a fungus which in turn forms on the surface of the wine while it is aging (a la sherry encore)... yet another bit of complexity added to one of the great sweets of the world.

thanks guys for the props on my last post. Apparently Angeli completely fucked up the 2002's of the same wine so if you come across one, DON'T buy it.

Easy,
Bill

[Beau]

I dunno, I think, "rancid nose" could be a big selling point....."Rancid scents of decaying organic material round out the wine nicely.."

I think Bill does a mucho better job of explaining the whole thing. I like the phrase "fresher picker upper" - it reminds me of Mentos (the FreshMacher)

Bill's Jura link:
http://thecaveman.blogspot.com/2005/03/weird-wines-1-pain-and-pleasure-of.html

[Lenn]

Thanks for the insights gentlement. I've never heard the term used in a good way (oxi-anything)...sadly I've seen lots of badly oxidized badly made LI chardonnay in my time writing about them.

I've never had the joy of a Tokaji...not sure I've even seen one in a shop either...

Beau...maybe Utah isn't so bad eh?

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