WINERY Royal Tokaji was founded in 1990 by well-known author Hugh Johnson and a small group of investors who were inspired to restore and preserve Hungary’s precious wine legacy after the fall of Communism. Tokaji is the world’s original sweet white wine ― the “cult wine” of the 18th and 19th centuries ― and the Tokaj wine region was the first to have classified vineyards.

WINE In truly exceptional years Royal Tokaji selects the finest berries from its finest vineyards and carefully produces a few barrels of Single Vineyard Aszú. Betsek is a celebrated first growth located in the Mád basin that yields a singular wine showcasing citrus zest and a vibrant palate.

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.

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.

This wine shows typical black pepper and orange zest character, vibrant honey and grapefruit on the palate with a long, spicy finish. Enjoy now or cellar for future enjoyment as the wine matures.