Ever since our trip to Tokaj, I jump at the chance to try dry Furmints when I see them on restaurant menus as they are such great food wines; and February just so happens to be the national month of Furmint!  On a recent visit to Liholiho Yacht Club in SF (one of my best meals of 2018 so far) we spotted the 2015 Bott “Csontos” Tokaji Furmint and had to get it.  While in Austria, our friend Gunter recommended a visit to Bott Pince, but unfortunately we didn’t have time and didn’t even get to sample her wines while in Budapest.

The wine did not disappoint!  Furmint is known for being a grape that wonderfully showcases the “terroir” of the region in which is was grown, taking on nuances and complexities of the soils and such.  High acid is what makes it such a great food pairing wine.  Judit and her husband Jozsef hand tend the vines in 6 different plots of vines.  The “Csontos” vineyard is on a south facing slope, providing long days of consistent sunlight that allow for gentle ripening.  The wine is then aged in neutral oak with native yeasts.  The volcanic soil adds a mineral depth to the wine, the slow fermentation and aging creates a round finish, all with notes of stone fruit and honey.