Royal Tokaji Blue Label 5 Puttonyos (50cl) 2016

Tokaji is Hungary’s most noble wine with 400 years of history and royal patronage. ‘5 Puttonyos’ indicates around 8 out of 10 on the sweetness scale yet it tastes remarkably refreshing. Its secret is noble rot, a fungus which affects certain lucky Hungarian vineyards (as it does in Sauternes in France), resulting in naturally raisined grapes (Aszú) of remarkable intensity. At its height, Tokaji was so revered that Tsar Peter the Great dispatched Cossacks to ensure the wine’s safe passage to St Petersburg. Production dried up during the Communist era but the Royal Tokaji Company, an Anglo-Hungarian consortium formed after the fall of Communism, has played a major part in Tokaji’s resurgence. Pour a glass of history and enjoy every sip.