Description

Eszencia is the soul of the Oremus wines. It is the most complex of all the naturally sweet Aszú wines. It was not for nothing that King Louis XIV of France described this type of Tokaj wine as "the wine of kings and the king of wines." Making Eszencia is a painstaking process rooted in centuries of tradition. It is only possible under special circumstances that favour the development of the fungus Botrytis cinerea (noble rot), which transforms the grapes into precious Aszú berries. In autumn, fog and dew envelop the Tokaj vineyards in himidty, letting the fungus penetrate the berries, increasing their concentration and rich aromas and flavours. Botrytis does not attack all the grapes at the same time, so the botrytised berries are picked by hand from each bunch in several passes. Harvesting is an artisanal process that takes several weeks, because each picker collects between 5 and 10 kg of berries per day. The berries are piled on top of each other, and their juice is extracted with the gentle pressure of the weight of the grapes themselves. Every drop of this nectar is the essence of Aszú grains, giving the wine its name: Eszencia.

The must is then poured into 50-litre glass containers or amphorae and left to ferment very slowly for months. It has a low alcohol content (2% to 3% alcohol) because not all the sugar is fermented, and there can be more than 500 grams of residual sugar per litre. After a year, it is transferred to 68-litre Átalag barrels, where it continues to mature. The final stage of ageing takes place in the bottle, in a journey that can last for decades.

This wine is ready to drink now, but it has a cellaring potential of at least 50 years if kept in optimal conditions of temperature (12-14ºC) and humidity (60%).

Best served at 8ºC.