Only nine vintages of the Royal Tokaji Red Label have been produced since its premier release of the 1990 vintage. Since then, the Red Label has been made in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006. This wine is a blend of carefully selected grapes from several of Royal Tokaji’s first and second growth vineyards.

Winter was normal for the region, with little snow and mild temperatures for the most part. A cold spell hit at the end of January and a few of the vineyards were affected by frost. Spring started late, and budding was far from ideal. There was plenty of rain in the season, especially in May. Only April was as warm as usual. Summer started the same way that spring finished — rainy and cold. Blossoming continued for a long time and berry setting was rather uneven. Fortunately, hot weather in July allowed the vines to catch up; by the end of the month they were at the right stage of development. August was cold, with average temperatures 3.6 degrees Celsius (38.5 degrees Fahrenheit) below the warmest August of the previous five years. Rainfall exceeded 147 millimeters (5.8 inches). Autumn once again brought extreme weather to the region. While this season is supposed to be the most humid one of the year in Hungary, there was only 37 millimeters (1.74 inches) of rain over a three-month period. It was also the warmest its been in the last five years. This weather helped us to produce very good quality dry and late harvest wines, as well as aszú berries. The amount of aszú berries was very limited because of the lack of rain during the growing season, which does not let botrytis develop on the berries.

Wines made in the vintage will have a lovely perfumed aroma, very good balance and nice body. Aszú wines will be of good quality, however, volume will be low.

A clear golden amber color. At first, botrytis, apricot, orange peel and honey hit the nose, followed more explicitly by fig, with wood and smoky notes flashing up, and both orange peel and honey returning in the end. The palate is rich with orange and notes of botrytis, which is then swept by apricot with a citrusy aftertaste. Wonderful and lively acidity. A touch of mint also appears with its cooling and refreshing effects. Thanks to the crisp acidity, it is not the sweetness, but the rich aromas that add up to the extremely long finish. Very promising, already fascinating aszú wine.