Decanter Gold London 2009
Aroma profile: 2003 was a great vintage and this wine nicely highlights this with its intense nose of fresh, ripe figs, peach, quince and a nice fresh cream character, with some spiciness (ginger, rose, pepper). The acidity of the wine is very lively; a solid backbone that supports the wine’s high residual sugar content. The complex finish lingers on forever in the mouth. This wine has exceptional aging potential (see below) and received a gold medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards this year (2009).
Vintage: Vintage 2003 was exceptionally warm and dry in the Tokaj Foothills, as it was throughout most of Europe. Grapes ripened early and healthily; botrytis came relatively late. October was quite rainy and accelerated the development of botrytis cinerea. Harvest was looking great, but early frosts and snow delayed the conclusion and gave a little headache to growers and producers. All in all, this vintage gave wonderful botrytis berries all around the Tokaj Wine Region, and complex, exciting wines were made, with excellent aging potential.
Optimal Drinking: The 2003 is a great wine, and still extremely young. From this point, it will develop for at least the next 10-20 years (through 2030), and will likely hold for 10-20 years after.
Ronn Wiegand
HU 
EN 
