Tokaj Classic Selection

The term aszú refers to the shrivelled grape berries that are created by way of overripe grapes and noble-rot (botrytisation) occurring upon the vines. The aszú wine is made of grape berries that have shrivelled and stewed as a result of noble rot, under attack by the botrytis cinerea fungus. If after a warm summer the cool, foggy dawns are followed by sunshine, due to the beneficial effect of the fungus the process of botrytisation commences. The making of aszú wine is extremely labour intensive. The aszú berries are selected from the vines by hand after which they are collected in wooden vessels "puttonys" (butts) each of which is capable of storing 20-25 kg of aszú berries. The puttony number between 3-6 designates how many aszú berries were used to make one Gönci barrel (136 l) of wine.