2016 Tokaji Essencia

The 2016 Tokaji Essencia is a production of just 2,300 bottles. It contains 535 g/l residual sugar and 15.5 g/l acidity and was bottled slightly earlier after three years' maturation in demijohn. This is slightly darker in colour compared to the 2017. The nose has changed a little since I tasted it a couple of years ago, quince and marmalade, a little more caramel and caramelized pear. It actually reminds me of a Vin de Constance. The palate is stunning on the entry with a voluminous unctuosity that almost overwhelms the senses, repeating those quince and marmalade notes with a hint of Devonshire fudge and Anjou pear that fan out with immense purity and underlying citrus tones. Outstanding.

The 2016 Essencia is a refulgent deep gold color. There’s no dabbling on the nose as it bursts with scents of Clementine, Japanese yuzu, quince and marmalade, all the tropes one expects from a Tokaji. Yet this being Essencia, those flavors are amplified without any loss in delineation. The palate is as unctuous as you expect, lacquering the inside of the mouth (and this is why a spoon is included, not for show, but the most efficient means for transferring the wine straight onto the tongue.) The tastebuds tingle with glee, reveling in untrammeled sweetness, effortlessly offset by that razor-sharp acidity that renders it not cloying in the slightest. Purer than an angelic choirboy, the 2016 is armed with immense tension on the citric finish that offers Seville orange marmalade, strawberry, mandarin and quince. Outrageous and yet sophisticated and probably indestructible.