Istvan Szepsy – Tokaji Furmint “Estate” 2017 6x 75cl Bottles

Colour: clear, straw yellow colour. Nose: elegant with expressive spices, lime and apple notes. Palate: vibrant, long and pleasing with its apple and apricot falvours. This amazing dry Furmint can be enjoyed just by itself, with first courses, fish dishes and slightly spicy food. There are winemakers and there are alchemists; how else could you explain the pureness of Szepsy’s wines, the elegance of his fruit and the harmony of structure? And yet, like most great wine-makers, his wines are not about what he does as much as what he does not do. There is no over-working the fruit at this estate, no unbalanced wines due to ‘ambitious’ winemaking. The philosophy is all about preserving the quality of the fruit and not about enhancement by artifice or sleight of hand. If Szepsy’s fruit traces the purest possible line from the vineyard to the bottle, the man himself can boast a lineage that goes back close to the origins of Tokaji: He is the direct descendant of Szepsy Lacko Mate who, in 1631 was the first person to write down the Tokaji making process. Szepsy has around 50 hectares under vine in largely rocky, volcanic soil. Though traditional in his approach, he constantly searches for new refinements in his quest for perfection. Fermentation and maturation takes place in wood. His yields have been described by none other than Michel Bettane of the Revue du Vin de France as ridiculously low (we could add, off course that they are Mad!). The wines have an almost sacred reputation and justifiably so as this example will prove.