2014 Tokaj Oremus Tokaji Aszú 3 Puttonyos Tokaj Hungary (500 mL) 500 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. On this hallowed ground, 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 land or grapes can yield a wine like this sweet, golden elixir.

Their Aszú 3 Puttonyos 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 2014 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.”

With an intoxicating aroma that blends lemon and orange blossoms with roasted peach jam, luscious white nectarines, candied ginger, and linden honey, it would be easy to sit and smell this wine for an entire evening. But you’d miss the electric palate, which follows a blast of honeyed, sweet-fruit flavors with a jolt of electric acidity that seems to rewire your brain with every sip.

It’s pure magic, but finding top examples of Tokaji in the US can be maddening—so you can imagine our delight when we spied Oremus on Eleven Madison Park’s wine list. We were looking for any excuse to order it, and it just so happened that our first course was seared foie gras in a rich duck broth, scented with ginger.

“Should we splurge on a bottle of Tokaji?” our VP of Wine Eduardo Dingler asked rhetorically, knowing full well how good these wines are—and that foie gras and Tokaji is one of the most magical pairings in wine.

The golden-hued Oremus shared the foie gras’s unctuous texture, but it was the wine’s acidity that lifted all of the flavors, and left us all in satisfied silence as the dish quickly vanished. All that was left was to order another bottle to go with dessert. We’ve been obsessed with the winery since, and finally tracked down a small parcel to offer to our members.

The wine’s rich core of sweet fruit and backbone of laser-focused acidity also makes it extremely long-lived, which means that the 2014 Oremus is just getting started, despite how delicious it is right now. The only thing short-lived about the Oremus is its availability, especially at this price. If any wine can safely be called a cellar essential, this is it.