Furmint
Tokaji's Golden Soul
Furmint is grown in Tokaj, Austria and Slovakia.
1other name
- Tastes of
- apricot, honey, orange marmalade and ginger
- Goes with
- foie gras, blue cheese and fruit tarts
- Also called
- Šipon
The story
Furmint is the grape behind Tokaji Aszú—Hungary's legendary sweet wine. Louis XIV called it 'the wine of kings and king of wines.' Tokaji was the world's first classified wine region (1730), predating Bordeaux by 125 years.
Insider story
Tokaji Aszú was the world's most prestigious wine for 300 years. European royalty hoarded it. The 1730 classification (predating Bordeaux) ranked vineyards by quality. Tokaji was liquid gold.
Then, communism destroyed everything. State farms over-cropped, quality plummeted. Tokaji became a joke. By 1990, the wine was nearly extinct.
Post-communism, foreign investors (including Bordeaux châteaux) revived Tokaji. Quality returned. Critics rediscovered it. But the reputation damage lingers. Many consumers still think Tokaji is 'cheap sweet wine.'
Dry Furmint is the new frontier. Producers make bone-dry, mineral, age-worthy Furmint. It's Hungary's answer to Riesling.
Technical deep dive
Furmint has extremely high acidity (8-10 g/L, higher than Riesling), citrus and smoke aromatics, and susceptibility to botrytis (noble rot).
Tokaji Aszú: botrytis-affected grapes (aszú berries) are added to base wine. Sweetness is measured in puttonyos (3-6, now simplified). The wines are intensely sweet (120-250 g/L RS) but balanced by acidity.
Dry Furmint: no botrytis, no residual sugar. The wines are mineral, citrusy, age-worthy (10-20 years).
Industry secrets
Dry Furmint is criminally undervalued. $15-40 bottles from Disznókő, Royal Tokaji, and Szepsy rival $60-100 Riesling. But nobody knows because 'Tokaji' means 'sweet wine' to most consumers.
For collectors
Investment grade B+
- Auction records
- Royal Tokaji Essencia ($500/500ml), Szepsy Essencia ($800)
- Blue-chip producers
-
- Royal Tokaji
- Disznókő
- Szepsy
- Oremus
- Value picks
- Dry Furmint ($15-35), Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos ($40-80)
- Price trend
- Tokaji Aszú undervalued vs. Sauternes. Dry Furmint emerging.
- Collector’s tip
- Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos ages 50+ years—undervalued vs. Sauternes. Dry Furmint is the new frontier.