Tokaj has a glorious history, which, however, almost literally ended up in the sand. The wine region was probably the first in the world to systematically extend the harvest into late autumn. And in the 1720s and 1730s, it was the first to establish a classification system for vineyards (into first, second, and third class). After the Soviet occupation of Hungary, Tokaj barely survived. But knowledge of the quality of the hillside vineyards was largely lost. The winegrowers were expropriated, until finally all the wineries were absorbed into the Tokaj-Hegyalja State Wine Combine in 1974. Unreasonable production targets were to be achieved not least by planting the flatlands and excessive harvests. Methods such as pasteurization and the addition of neutral alcohol for stabilization were introduced in the cellars. After the fall of communism and subsequent privatization, including partial privatization to foreign investors, no one really knew how the great Tokaj had been produced before the World War.
In the early 1990s, a debate arose between the proponents of supposed “tradition” and “modernity.” This included the question of fermentation in stainless steel. Or the timing of adding Aszú berries for maceration – in must, fermenting or finished wine. And finally, the use and origin of wooden barrels. When David Schildknecht traveled through the region in 1999, it seemed to him that every winemaker interpreted tradition according to their own taste. With each change of winemaker, he felt he was also leaving the wine-growing region. Everyone believed they were part of a historical “revival” without knowing what this tradition actually meant. When Hungary joined the EU in 2002, the Tokaj wine region was granted a protected designation of origin, similar to an AOC. However, no specific style was prescribed to the winemakers. When Tim Atkin wrote his Master of Wine dissertation on Tokaj in the same year, he described the dry wines as merely “acceptable.” There was no mention of sparkling wine at all.
The upheaval since the 2010s
In the 2000s, wine production in Tokaj diversified. Dry white wines, especially those made from Furmint, recorded growth rates as high as those of sparkling wines. At the same time, there was a clear need to tighten the Tokaj specifications as a whole. This led to various changes in the Tokaj Product Specification (TPS) between 2013 and 2024. For example, the Aszú requirements were clarified so that today there are only 5- or 6-puttonyos Aszú wines. But also to stricter regulations for Tokaj sparkling wines. For example, mechanical harvesting is not permitted and only the “traditional method” may be used in production. The region is hesitating to take the next logical step: the reintroduction of vineyard classification. Only one of the eight self-governing wine-growing communities (into which the appellation with its 27 villages and municipalities is divided) wanted to take this step: The municipality of Mád, which has been considered a center of the region for centuries. It had already attracted attention in the early 2000s with dry single-vineyard and local wines.
It is no coincidence that Mád is the region’s pioneer. Not only are some of its vineyards traditionally among the best in Tokaj, but it is also home to some of the country’s most prominent winemakers. The University of Debrecen has a branch here, the Mád Wine Academy, which is dedicated to the scientific study of Tokaj wine in general and its connection to the terroir in particular. In addition to the university and the municipality of Mád, it is also supported by Mád Kör, an association for the protection of the Mád designation of origin, which mainly comprises winegrowers with vineyards (“Dülöi”) in Mád. They have identified the best high-altitude sites in the municipality and developed production regulations for local and single-vineyard wines from Mád: MOC (Mád Origin Control) and MDOC (Mád Dülö Origin Control). Because the other wine-growing communities in Tokaj do not want to integrate them into the appellation’s specifications, the protection association from Mád calls them “trade certifications.” Officially registered in November 2020, the first 2021 wines with the new logo are already on the market.
Holdvölgy: Diversity is good
The still young Holdvölgy winery is a prime example of the quality-oriented spirit of optimism in Mád. In 1998, the French mother of the current owners gifted her Hungarian husband a vineyard in Mád, where he had once grown up. Over the next few years, their son Peter Démko—who, incidentally, works as a lawyer—bought more. Five hectares in the Holdvölgy location, meaning “Valley of the Moon” in English, were then chosen as the name for the winery. It produced its first wines in 2006, which were then launched on the market in 2008. Between 2011 and 2013, an impressive wine cellar was built on three levels and connected to a renovated 500-year-old cellar system 1.8 kilometers long. Today, the winery owns 28 hectares of vineyards. Peter’s sister and co-founder of Holdvölgy, Natália Démko, is the estate’s export manager. The portfolio comprises exclusively highly individual bottlings, above a pop-style entry-level line and the dry Tokaj entry-level blend Vision.
The company’s philosophy is already evident in the tiny steel tanks used for micro-parcel fermentation. Various yeasts are used for fermentation. But it is not only in the cellar that the winery focuses on precision, but also in the vineyard. Meditation is a single-varietal dry Furmint from the Mád top vineyard Király, Expression is a Hárselvelü from Becsek. Even the Muscat is vinified from a single vineyard (Intuition No. 2 and Exaltation), as is the rare Zéta grape variety, from which there is a Szamorodni from Holdvölgy (Intuition No. 1). There are four different clones of Furmint in the vineyards, and Intuition No. 3 is a single-clone bottling (T8/7575) from the Holdvölgy vineyard. These are all wines with strong character, almost intellectual, that you want to spend a long time enjoying. Nevertheless, they are outshone by the great sweet wines, especially the Tokaji Aszú 6 Pottonyos (“Culture”). This has been offered en primeur since 2014 – at the earliest eight years after harvest. The 2016 vintage combines clarity and depth, a great ambassador for the new top Tokaj wines from Mád.
Sauska: The 360-degree approach
Sauska is a phenomenon: a winery in two regions and three locations. It was founded by Krisztián Sauska, who fled Hungary for the USA. He had earned a lot of money in his new home with fluorescent lamps and, together with his wife Andrea, founded two wineries under their name, first in Tokaj in 2003 and then in Villány (for red wines, especially Cabernet Franc) in 2006. In 2016, they expanded with a cellar in Budafok, Hungary’s historic sparkling wine center. Initially located in the old casino in Tokaj, the Tokaj winery moved to a new futuristic cellar near Mád two decades later. Here, the work is based on the principle of gravity, and all modern vinification methods are used in the cellar. In addition to still wines from Tokaj, the base wines for Sauska sparkling wines are also produced here. Their second fermentation and bottle aging then takes place in Budafok. During production, oenologist Gábor Rakaczki is advised by Régis Camus, the former cellar master of Champagne Piper-Heidsieck.
The family business thus offers the entire range of wine possibilities. Because the sparkling wines are produced not only from Furmint, but also from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the range includes corresponding still wines from Tokaj. This is, of course, a taboo break, especially when it comes to red wine. In addition to single-varietal cuvées (including Sauvignon), the dry wines also include single vineyard wines (single-varietal Furmint, Chardonnay, or Pinot Noir). Here, the purist, tight Furmint from the single vineyard Birsalmás clearly towers above the rest of the dry range; it is perhaps the winery’s most impressive white wine. The other wines, including the sparkling wines and sweet Tokaj wines, seem very perfectly vinified overall, but also a little polished and do not reach the top. In the case of sparkling wines, for example, I see the competitor Kreinbacher already a step ahead. I have tasted Sauska Aszú 6 Puttonyos from the exceptional year 2017 several times. It is impressive and dense, but lacks a little complexity and length compared to its top competitors.
Disnókő: French influences
Disznókő has been owned by the French AXA Group since 1993, one year after the company also acquired Château Suduiraut in Sauternes. At that time, several foreign investors acquired parts of the former state-owned wine combine, which not everyone welcomed in Tokaj. Disznókő initially used mainly Sauternes barrels and practiced “French-inspired” winemaking. This placed it at the center of the ‘tradition’ versus “modernity” debate. When the local control board rejected several Aszú in 1995, they founded with seven other quality winemakers the group “Tokaj Renaissance – Association of Classified Vineyards”, which played a significant role in the development of modern Tokaj. As with other wineries, the contrast between modern and traditional has gradually transformed into a hybrid form. László Mészáros, director of Disznókő since 2000, emphasizes today that the house style is the “perfect balance between the purity of the fruit and the complexity of Botrytis cinerea, the richness and the freshness.”
The basis for this is, of course, first and foremost the magnificent terroir: Disznókő, the estate’s namesake vineyard first mentioned in 1413, is one of the region’s absolute top sites. Here, halfway between Mád and Tarcal, lies the winery, where a modern cellar in the shape of a Hungarian “jurta” was built in 1995 next to the old 19th-century press house. Additional land was cultivated around Disznókő, so that the winery now sources its grapes from a single contiguous plot. The portfolio includes a wide range of classic wines, even a dry (“Száraz”) Szamorodni. In addition to Furmint, other traditional grape varieties are also cultivated, but no international ones. In addition to the classics (5/6-Puttonyos and Escenzia), the Aszús also include a kind of “crème de tête” called Aszú V.P.T.S. and the 6-puttonyos single-vineyard Aszú Kapi from the heart of the Disznókő vineyard. Because the visit was spontaneous, I was only able to taste the 5-puttonyos, which is remarkably elegant and balanced for a Tokaj.
Tasting highlights
The wine was part of a Tokaj masterclass at the Budapest Wine Summit 2025, held by László Mészáros together with Péter Molnár from the Patricius Winery. The style of Disznókő illustrated several characteristics of modern Tokaj wines. First, the good acidity, which the wine owes to Furmint. Then the clear fruit, here the result of only two years of barrel aging, the legal minimum. And then there is a structure-giving, delicately bitter phenolic character. This is mainly the result of the maceration process between the individual noble rot, raisin-like Aszú berries and the base wine or must until a paste forms. It is this phenolic character, as László Mészáros emphatically pointed out, that distinguishes Tokaj from other sweet wines. The 2003 6-Puttonyos Aszú from Lenkey was the counterpart to this. Their wines mature for a very long time in the barrel and then in the bottle. Here, secondary and tertiary aromas dominated, with very good acidity, and even a hint of saffron was noticeable.
However, perhaps the greatest Aszús were found during the tastings around and during the Budapest Wine Summit. Still in Tokaj, the 2019 6-Puttonys from Harsányi, a winery in the northeast of the region, was a delight. Its complexity is also due to the fact that it was aged entirely in new oak. Another spectacular single-varietal Furmint was the 2017 6-Puttonys from Demetervin, made from grapes grown in the Mád top site Király, meaning “king’s vineyard.” One of the stars of the Budapest tasting was the 2019 6-Puttonys from Babits in Szegi, north of Tokaj. The multi-award-winning wine fascinated with its enormous clarity.
But for the final highlight, you had to go to Buda Castle, to András Bruhács of Tokaj Classic. After emigrating, he initially made a career for himself as a cellist in Germany. After the fall of communism, he and two partners revived his family’s winery in Mád. Bruhács presented several top wines, such as the perfectly matured 6-Puttonys from 1999 and the Aszú-6-Puttonyos selection Quintessence from 2018. With the 2013 Essencia, time finally stood still. Also from the Kiraly vineyard, the wine contains 538.5 grams/liter of residual sugar and 3.5 percent alcohol with an electrifying acidity. In it, one really felt that one had come close to the essence, the inner being of Tokaj.
Captions and acknowledgments
Cover photo and photos 1 and 2: Disnókő Winery during the 2025 grape harvest
3, 4, and 6: Impressions from the Holdvölgy Winery
5: Natália Démko, co-founder of Holdvölgy
7: Gábor Rakaczki, oenologist and operations manager at Sauska/Tokaj, surrounded by colleagues
9: László Mészáros, director of Disznókő
Final image: András Bruhács, co-founder of Tokaj Classic
The trip to Tokaj and Budapest was organized at the invitation and expense of Wines of Hungary as part of the “Bor 2025 | Budapest Wine Summit” and was coordinated on the German side by ff.k Public Relations. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all the organizers and the participating wineries.
Image rights
Stefan Pegatzky / Time Tunnel Images
