Szent Benedek Winery

Tokaj Region

Szent Benedek’s winemaker, József Ádam, aims to show the diverse volcanic soils of the vineyards around the top Tokaj towns of Tállya and Mád. This small family-owned winery is located in a 17th century villa in the village of Tállya, with an enchanting old mould-covered cellar. Ádam is a winemaker with passionate ideas about his work, and what a Tokaj wine should be. He believes blending dry wines from different vineyards is the key to real Tokaj-style dry  wines, comparing blending to being ‘like mixing spices in cooking’. Then he likes to age them to perfection, for much longer than most wineries in the region do today.

Sweet Szamorodni, 2013

A blend of the indigenous Tokaj varieties Furmint (75 percent) and Hárslevelű (25 percent), picked on November 11, with around 70 percent of the grapes having been botrytised – that is afflicted by ‘noble rot’. This process draws the water out of the grapes, shrivels them and greatly intensifies the sugar, acidity, concentration and flavors. It is aided by the autumn mists prevalent in the Tokaj region. Szamorodni is a word derived from Polish (in bygone days the Poles were serious buyers of Tokaj’s legendary sweet wines) meaning roughly ‘as it comes’, which refers to the how regular ‘healthy’ grapes are picked alongside the botrytised berries. This wine was barrel fermented in used 2.2 hectoliter barrels, then aged in barrels for 28 months. Winemaker József Ádam aims to show the diverse volcanic soils of the vineyards around the top Tokaj towns of Tállya and Mád. He also makes the blend ‘like mixing spices in cooking’. Vibrant pale gold color, honey, apricot, vanilla and winter spice aromas and flavors. Zesty and citrusy on the palate with very fresh acidity that cuts through the considerable sweetness. Ideal with spicy Asian food and cheese. Just 1,076 bottles made.

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