Favorite wine

[simoan]

Lets have a discussion here on the favorite wine. All of you do tell your favorite wine with its reason. For me, I like all sweet wines.

Hi Michael,

Are you American by any chance?

I think it would help any discussion if you started by providing a bit more detail about your favourite wine. It's a bit vague to just say you like sweet wine. What type of sweet wine - Tokay, Sauternes, Banyuls? And why do you like it? I love Banyuls with Chocolate and Pedro Ximenez with Xmas pudding or poured over good quality vanilla ice cream, but they aren't even close to being my favourite wine.

All the best, Si

[AleisterCrowley]

Tokay ? - the favourite of the Duc de Richleau (Wheatley novels)
-goes well with a Hoyo de Monterrey cigar

[simoan]

Tokay ? - the favourite of the Duc de Richleau (Wheatley novels)
-goes well with a Hoyo de Monterrey cigar

How many Puttonyos did he go for with his cigar?

[AleisterCrowley]

Being Le Duc - maximum probably

[Hallucigenia]

Being Le Duc - maximum probably

The only time I've done a serious Tokay tasting was of bottles brought back by someone on a trip there soon after the fall of Communism. Back then you occasionally saw bottles of 3 & 5 puttonyos, but not often. For me 4 puttonyos was the sweet spot - or rather the balance spot, with enough acidity to balance the sugar. You still don't see 4 that often, but I've been mildly disappointed by the ones I've had since then.

[AleisterCrowley]

I noticed my (soon-to-shut) local M&S do a Tokay for £25
(Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos)

[simoan]

The only time I've done a serious Tokay tasting was of bottles brought back by someone on a trip there soon after the fall of Communism. Back then you occasionally saw bottles of 3 & 5 puttonyos, but not often. For me 4 puttonyos was the sweet spot - or rather the balance spot, with enough acidity to balance the sugar. You still don't see 4 that often, but I've been mildly disappointed by the ones I've had since then.

Can't say I've ever tried a wide range of Tokay - we once had a bottle of Royal Tokaji 5 puttunyos and I wasn't impressed but maybe we left it too long before drinking and the acidity had gone. I have a sweet tooth, but even so, I think you're brave going to a Tokay tasting! I really struggled when my other half was doing the sweet wine module of her Diploma. We don't drink much sweet wine and still have a bottle of Niagara Ice Wine and very old bottle of Cloudy Bay Botrytised Riesling gathering dust on the wine rack. If I have to have a dessert wine, I do like a nice bottle of Moscato D'Asti because at 5% alc. it doesn't hurt too much if you've already over indulged !

All the best, Si

[chas49]

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The OP has been banned for spam, so no point responding to him. (chas49)

[Hallucigenia]

The only time I've done a serious Tokay tasting was of bottles brought back by someone on a trip there soon after the fall of Communism. Back then you occasionally saw bottles of 3 & 5 puttonyos, but not often. For me 4 puttonyos was the sweet spot - or rather the balance spot, with enough acidity to balance the sugar. You still don't see 4 that often, but I've been mildly disappointed by the ones I've had since then.

Can't say I've ever tried a wide range of Tokay - we once had a bottle of Royal Tokaji 5 puttunyos and I wasn't impressed but maybe we left it too long before drinking and the acidity had gone. I have a sweet tooth, but even so, I think you're brave going to a Tokay tasting! I really struggled when my other half was doing the sweet wine module of her Diploma. We don't drink much sweet wine and still have a bottle of Niagara Ice Wine and very old bottle of Cloudy Bay Botrytised Riesling gathering dust on the wine rack. If I have to have a dessert wine, I do like a nice bottle of Moscato D'Asti because at 5% alc. it doesn't hurt too much if you've already over indulged !

All the best, Si

Tokay's a funny one - there was a small amount of really good stuff kept back for the Communist Party (and I think we had some of that) but otherwise it rather suffered during the Cold War, there's been a lot of investment since then which has helped overall quality but has perhaps lost some of the idiosyncracy of it. I can't say I've ever bought much but it's something I always look out for at tastings - not least because I'm a sucker for botrytis and it's one of the most reliable places for botrytis infection.

In general dessert wine is one of those things I only really have as a treat for big dinners - and left wondering why I don't do more of it. There's just something about getting the right balance of fruit, acidity and sweetness in the food and getting that perfectly matched to a wine, when it works it's just a glorious thing. Not so keen on it with stinky cheese - it's more of an intellectual appreciation rather than true love....