2018 Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos Betsek
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Royal Tokaji has 15 hectares of south-facing 50-year-old vines in Betsek, a First Growth vineyard. The soils here combine dark, rich clay with chalk-white minerals all over volcanic bedrock. There’s a herbal, almost sage-like, note on the nose here, sitting alongside a savoury, earthy character and sheer, sweet fruit. The palate is intense and viscous, with the stone-fruit rolling lazily around the tongue. There’s unbelievable power and persistence to the fruit, with a lushness too, the exotic pineapple and apricot balanced by beautiful juicy acidity that gives the wine remarkable energy. Outstanding, this will need time to reveal its full complexity. 203.2g/l residual sugar and 11% alcohol
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
TA 6.53 g/l, pH 3.49, RS 203.2 g/l. Certified sustainable. Tasted blind. Medium gold. Toasty, honeyed, creamy, saffron. Super-sweet and caramelly but not as complex as some of the others in this line-up. (SCJ)
Full 50-cl bottle approx 925 g. 78% Furmint and 22% Hárslevelű grown on volcanic bedrock overlaid with rich clay. Botrytised berries macerated in fermenting must for 2 days. After fermentation in barrel, the wines aged in Hungarian oak casks for 2 years. Winemaker Máté Varga. TA 6.53 g/l, pH 3.49, RS 203.2 g/l. Vegan. Available in up to 100 shops. Bright gold. Correct and exciting! But too expensive really – even though it’s gorgeous. Lovely smooth texture. (JR)
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 volcanic minerals. Royal Tokaji owns 15 hectares of south-facing parcels planted with Furmint and Hárslevelű vines with an average age of around 30 years. RS 203.2 g/l, TA 6.53 g/l. 7,358 bottles made. Very rich and sweet with a certain spicy note plus a hint of green vegetation. Not as long as some of its stablemates but it would stand up to almost the sweetest dish. Hint of prunes on the end. (JR)