2013 Tempos Vega Sicilia Oremus Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos Tokaji 750 ml

Tokaji Aszú is a wine of pure luxury, with such profound deliciousness, mesmerizing complexity, and frustrating rarity that popes and kings have prized it as the world’s finest dessert wine for 400 years since it was first produced in modern-day Hungary.

Tokaj Oremus sits as one of the premier wineries in the land, a passion project of the iconic producer Vega Sicilia—in fact, the only wines that they make outside of Spain. The vineyards of Tokaji were the first in the world to be formally classified, and Oremus’ star bottlings come from a host of vineyards that have been classified as Grand Cru quality since the 1600’s. Here native Furmint grapes lend this sweet wine a backbone of vibrant acidity, while Harslevelu contributes a singular floral bouquet. Suffice it to say no other place can yield a wine like this sweet, golden elixir.

Their Aszú 6 Puttonyos (6 Puttonyos is the sweetest level of Tokaji, save the low-alcohol syrup they call Essencia) belongs to that revered clique of botrytised wines, which can only be made when nature permits botrytis, or the “noble rot,” to work its magic on sugar-swollen grapes. The botrytis dehydrates the grapes and concentrates the flavors, which in the case of the 2013 Oremus, creates a luscious elixir complex enough to inspire obsession. None other than Louis XV—a man with the world at his beck and call—called it “the wine of kings and the king of wines.” 

If any wine can safely be called a cellar essential, this is it. Pair this with the most decadent desserts, such as pineapple upside-down cake, stilton, or for the true gourmands, seared foie gras with an apricot glaze.