Great Tokaji Szamorodnis on the market #1 – Degenfeld Selection 2017

Besides Aszú, Szamorodni is the other sweet flagship wine of Tokaj. It was the theme to our wine club early December (2019), on which occasion we tasted six of them, plus three other sweet whites blind. I’m gonna post the three I really liked in the next few days, starting with the Gróf Degenfeld Szamorodni Sárgamuskotály Selection 2017.

Unusually for Szamorodni, this is 100% Muscat. The style is also less common, it’s a super fresh rendition, made most likely from shrivelled, but not Botrytised grapes. A delicate, pure wine with grapey, citrusy notes, with just a hint of saffron adding interest. While it’s fragile to taste, there is great intensity to it’s flavor, filling every corner of the mouth. So juicy, so sophisticated, so precise. With it’s moderated sweetness (120 grams/l) and lively character, it goes down dangerously easy.

Rating: outstanding, 90 points.
Price: 5950 HUF (18 Euros) at Bortársaság.
Value: great.
Tasted: December, 2019.
Source: I bought the bottle.
Drinking window: now-2025.