ROYAL TOKAJI BETSEK 6 PUTTONYOS 2018 - 500ml
In truly exceptional years Royal Tokaji selects the finest berries from its finest vineyards and carefully produces a few barrels of Single Vineyard Aszú. After a cold winter, temperatures rose rapidly in April and May, stimulating vigorous growth in the vines. Harvest was the earliest in living memory and probably the earliest ever, providing good volumes of healthy, ripe grapes with firm acidity and excellent quality. The warm, dry autumn was more conducive to drying the grapes than to botrytis, but nevertheless we managed to pick a very satisfactory amount of fine quality Aszú berries. Overall, a record-breaking and outstanding vintage, ripe, rich, and balanced. The excellent Aszú berries with good structure and perfect botrytis were macerated in fermenting must for two days. After pressing and finishing fermentation in barrel the wines were filled into Hungarian oak casks in our extensive, deep underground cellars to mature for over two years. The final blends were carefully crafted in the spring of 2021. Betsek hill is a celebrated First Growth vineyard located in the Mád basin. Its volcanic bedrock is overlaid with rich clay mixed with dark, almost black soil and chalk-white minerals. Royal Tokaji owns 15ha of south-facing parcels planted with Furmint and Hárslevelű vines with an average age of around 50 years.
95 pts Vinous
The 2018 Tokaji Betsek 6-Puttonyos is left for 15 minutes to open in the glass. Following the stunning “Mézes Mály is an unenviable task, and it doesn't reach the same level of complexity. Potpourri hints intermix with dried honey and jasmine scents. But the palate is superb: outstanding purity, perhaps the spiciest of the Single Vineyard cuvées, stem ginger and a dab of Szechuan pepper towards the finish that lingers long in the mouth. I would afford this a couple of years in bottle. 203.2g/l residual sugar and 6.53g/l acidity). Drink 2026 - 2055
96 Jancis Robinson (Andrii Stetsiuk)
Pure botrytis character coming through, with spices, pepper, minerals and savory touches of dry soil on the nose. Denser and more compact on the palate, with a full body, bitter notes and a very fine, silky texture. Hints of spiced citrus peel at the end. Very long. Drink or hold.
96 Decanter (Sylvia Wu)
Dried camomile with a hint of minty freshness, alongside dried apricot and peach perfume. Incredible freshness and spice on the attack, ethereal despite 206.9g/l of sugar. Ginger-spiced bitter citrus peel and rich apricot fruits envelop the mouth. Salted nuts and umami depth linger endlessly on the pure, honeyed finish, echoing the single-vineyard’s Mézes Mály ‘honeycomb’). The ‘Great First Growth’ site features volcanic bedrock and deep loess soil. An extraordinary balance of elegance and indulgent richness. Drink 2024 - 2034
Original: $154.99
-70%$154.99
$46.50
Description
In truly exceptional years Royal Tokaji selects the finest berries from its finest vineyards and carefully produces a few barrels of Single Vineyard Aszú. After a cold winter, temperatures rose rapidly in April and May, stimulating vigorous growth in the vines. Harvest was the earliest in living memory and probably the earliest ever, providing good volumes of healthy, ripe grapes with firm acidity and excellent quality. The warm, dry autumn was more conducive to drying the grapes than to botrytis, but nevertheless we managed to pick a very satisfactory amount of fine quality Aszú berries. Overall, a record-breaking and outstanding vintage, ripe, rich, and balanced. The excellent Aszú berries with good structure and perfect botrytis were macerated in fermenting must for two days. After pressing and finishing fermentation in barrel the wines were filled into Hungarian oak casks in our extensive, deep underground cellars to mature for over two years. The final blends were carefully crafted in the spring of 2021. Betsek hill is a celebrated First Growth vineyard located in the Mád basin. Its volcanic bedrock is overlaid with rich clay mixed with dark, almost black soil and chalk-white minerals. Royal Tokaji owns 15ha of south-facing parcels planted with Furmint and Hárslevelű vines with an average age of around 50 years.
95 pts Vinous
The 2018 Tokaji Betsek 6-Puttonyos is left for 15 minutes to open in the glass. Following the stunning “Mézes Mály is an unenviable task, and it doesn't reach the same level of complexity. Potpourri hints intermix with dried honey and jasmine scents. But the palate is superb: outstanding purity, perhaps the spiciest of the Single Vineyard cuvées, stem ginger and a dab of Szechuan pepper towards the finish that lingers long in the mouth. I would afford this a couple of years in bottle. 203.2g/l residual sugar and 6.53g/l acidity). Drink 2026 - 2055
96 Jancis Robinson (Andrii Stetsiuk)
Pure botrytis character coming through, with spices, pepper, minerals and savory touches of dry soil on the nose. Denser and more compact on the palate, with a full body, bitter notes and a very fine, silky texture. Hints of spiced citrus peel at the end. Very long. Drink or hold.
96 Decanter (Sylvia Wu)
Dried camomile with a hint of minty freshness, alongside dried apricot and peach perfume. Incredible freshness and spice on the attack, ethereal despite 206.9g/l of sugar. Ginger-spiced bitter citrus peel and rich apricot fruits envelop the mouth. Salted nuts and umami depth linger endlessly on the pure, honeyed finish, echoing the single-vineyard’s Mézes Mály ‘honeycomb’). The ‘Great First Growth’ site features volcanic bedrock and deep loess soil. An extraordinary balance of elegance and indulgent richness. Drink 2024 - 2034
