Initially delicious though many cheaper bottlings of dessert wine may appear to be, freshness can sometimes be at a premium and one can often find a slightly cloying characteristic that either limits their versatility or, worse, one’s full enjoyment of them. I had been looking for an exceptional value dessert wine to place on the festive table that had equally a ‘cut’ of fresh acidity that could enliven even the richest of Christmas puddings – and I’ve found an ideal candidate! A Late Harvest Tokaji Furmint 2015 from Hungary. Furmint may not be the most familiar grape variety in the general scheme of things, but it is a time-honoured classic, and is used exclusively in the production of Tokay wines from simple late-harvest bottlings to fabulous ‘elixir’ rarities like Tokaji Essencia or Tokaji Aszú at the very pinnacle of Hungarian dessert wine production.

Given both its basic status and its shelf-price my discovery doesn’t belong in the pantheon of Hungary’s ‘greats’ but falls into a category that once used to be called Tokaji Cuvée – you may even find a few bottles still bearing that label although ‘Late Harvest’ is a clearer modern description. Complex rules and regulations apply to Tokay wines above this level but strangely enough there are no official guidelines determining the ageing of these simpler wines. Although picked late, the grapes are still at a point when freshness can be accented in a wine that is finely balanced between a tingling acidity at the top, a textured and softly sweet apricotty middle, and a lightly honeyed finish. Under a slew of ownerships across the ages this wine’s producer Chateau Dereszla enjoys a history of winemaking in the Tokaji region that stretches back to the early 15^th century….and experience tells.

Afterthought: Well chilled down, this would also make a delightful Christmassy off-dry aperitif.