[Agyeong Wine Cellar] A Sweet but Sad Paradoxical Elixir, Oremus

<6> Hungary's 'Oremus'

The world's first noble wine started in 1630
One of the world's top 3 sweet wines along with Sauternes and TBA
Various variations unfolding within the category of sweetness

Editor's NoteThere is no wine under the sky that is the same. Even if grapes grown on the same land every year are brewed and aged in the same way, the results differ each time. Wine is a 'drink of chance' created by the harmony of humans and nature. Wines that silently disappear after leaving only one intense memory all carry fascinating stories. 'Akyung Wine Cellar' shares one by one the stories of wines that are brewed and ripened according to different circumstances.

Panoramic view of Budapest, Hungary.
Photo by Eunmo Koo

In the movie "Gloomy Sunday," set in Budapest, Hungary, pianist Andras is captivated at first sight by Ilona, whom he meets at a newly employed restaurant. He gifts her the song "Gloomy Sunday," which he composed with his feelings, and this song is later released as an album, gently stirring hearts across Hungary and Europe. In the film, the daughter of the Mendel family, steel and textile magnates, quietly remarks after hearing Andras play "Gloomy Sunday" himself.

"It's sweet yet bitter. Perfectly balanced."

Sweetness is generally associated with joy. However, some sweetness acts as a catalyst for emotions, evoking deep loneliness, soon confronting sadness, and ultimately succumbing to melancholy. This sorrowful sweetness is even more precious because it is rarely encountered. Hungary has another sweetness as sorrowful as "Gloomy Sunday." It is the noble but decayed, thus rare noble rot grape wine, the noble wine "Tokaji Aszu," made from noble rot grapes.

'Tokaji Aszu' wine stored in the underground cellar of the Hungarian Tokaji Oremus Winery.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

Oremus, the Origin of the Tokaji Legend

Oremus, located in the Tokaj region of Hungary, is a winery that quietly produces a potion that makes one willingly accept the paradox of sweet yet sorrowful. Tokaj, nestled in the northeastern hilly area of Hungary, is the birthplace of Tokaji Aszu wine, considered one of the world's three great noble wines alongside France's Sauternes and Germany's Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA).

Oremus is the origin of Tokaji Aszu wine. In 1630, Mate Szepsi Lacko, a Calvinist pastor, made wine from noble rot grapes in the Oremus vineyard, which history records as the first Tokaji Aszu and the first noble rot wine. Later, Tokaji wine was praised by France's Louis XIV as "The Wine of Kings, King of Wines," and was regarded as an aphrodisiac and tonic, guarding the bedsides of royalty and nobility. As Tokaji wine's fame grew and imitations surged, in 1737, the world's first demarcation of wine regions and classification system was implemented.

A vineyard view of 'Oremus' from the winery.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

Tokaji wine, renowned across Europe as a premium wine, was nationalized during Hungary's communist era in the 1950s, focusing on mass production, which led to a sharp decline in quality and fading from memory. The revival of the declining Tokaji wine came with the collapse of the communist regime in 1989. With the disbandment of the state-owned wine company "Korkombinat" and the influx of foreign capital, French insurer AXA and others actively invested in the Tokaj region, paving the way for resurgence.

During this process, Oremus was acquired in 1993 by Spain's Vega Sicilia, welcoming a new owner. Vega Sicilia recruited Andras Bakso, who had managed Korkombinat, as general director to support the continuation of Hungary's wine heritage and focused on quality improvement through active investment. Kindl Robert, Oremus general manager, explained, "The Alvarez family of Vega Sicilia dedicated years of research and investment to find the optimal grape cultivation and winemaking methods, raising the wine's quality. It was only in the 2000s that we produced wines we could truly call ours, with the 1999 vintage being the first vintage wine produced by Oremus in ten years since 1989."

Wine of Hungarian Tokaji 'Oremus'.
Photo by Eunmo Koo

Tokaji Aszu, the Sweet Magic Created by Noble Rot

Wines produced in the Tokaj region are called Tokaji after the region's name. However, only wines made from grapes infected by the mold "Botrytis Cinerea" are called Tokaji Aszu. "Aszu" refers to grapes infected by the noble rot mold Botrytis Cinerea, which have shriveled and dried. Sweet wines made from Aszu grapes are Tokaji Aszu.

The skin of noble rot-infected grapes is pierced with countless tiny holes, through which moisture evaporates, drying the grapes like raisins. Though these dried grapes appear as wrinkled grapes covered with mold, their sugars and aromas are intensely concentrated, releasing a rich sweetness when tasted. Pressing these grapes yields a small amount of juice, which when fermented produces a wine rich in ripe fruit aromas, sweeter than honey. The sweetness of noble rot wines is not a straightforward sugar sweetness but a unique aroma and complex flavor derived from the mold.

A view of the 'Mandolas' vineyard of Oremus in Tokaji, Hungary.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

However, noble rot Aszu grapes are not easily produced. Noble rot does not occur just anywhere. A river nearby must create morning mist to provide humidity, and warm sunlight during the day must create a clear, dry environment. Tokaj, located where the Bodrog and Tisza rivers meet south of the Zemplen Mountains, is an area optimized for noble rot formation. Warm winds blow in summer, and in autumn, mist rises from the mountains and rivers, inducing Botrytis mold.

This natural environment of Tokaj is a source of pride, producing noble rot wines far superior to those of France and Germany. Bacso Andras, Oremus master cellar, said, "For grapes to concentrate optimally, it is necessary to have repeated cycles of rain and drying like in Tokaj. Sauternes in France has relatively less sunlight and is generally more humid, so grapes do not shrivel as severely as in Tokaj." He emphasized Tokaji Aszu's superiority in complexity. He also added that Tokaj's volcanic soil, rich in minerals, imparts acidity to the grapes and wine, allowing for a balanced wine that can be enjoyed without cloying despite high sugar content.

Scenery of the 'Petracs' vineyard of Tokaji Oremus in Hungary.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

"Sometimes Elegant, Sometimes Lively"…Sweetly Unfolding Various Variations

The Tokaj region mainly cultivates three indigenous grape varieties: Furmint, H?rslevel?, and S?rga Muskot?ly. Oremus focuses on Furmint. Furmint is Hungary's most widely grown premium white grape variety, characterized by complex aromas and high acidity. When young, it features apple flavors and pronounced acidity; with aging, it develops nutty and honeyed notes. Above all, Furmint's thin skin makes it vulnerable to noble rot, making it primarily used for Aszu wine production.

Most wineries in Tokaj produce Aszu wines according to the sweetness unit called "puttonyos." A puttonyos is roughly a 20kg wooden basket, initially just a tool for transporting grapes but gradually standardized as a unit for measuring grape harvests. The sweetness of Tokaji Aszu wine is traditionally calculated by how many puttonyos of Aszu grapes are added to a base wine contained in a 136L oak barrel called a "Gonci." The higher the number of puttonyos, the sweeter the wine.

(From the left) 'Puttonyos' and 'Gonci' [Photo by Gu Eunmo]

Oremus produces Aszu wines of "3 puttonyos," "5 puttonyos," and "6 puttonyos." However, Master Bacso cautioned against interpreting the puttonyos unit as a ranking of superiority. Rather than understanding that more Aszu grapes mean better wine, it is more accurate to see the variation in puttonyos as showing a range of expressions from elegance to liveliness within the category of sweetness.

Master Bacso emphasized, "There are character differences even among Aszu grapes. It's not simply about adding different amounts of grapes with the same character." He explained, "3 puttonyos wines aim for a fresh feel, so they are made mainly with grapes that have high acidity and freshness, while 5 puttonyos wines focus on complexity and balance, using grapes with balanced acidity and sugar. Ultimately, it is about blending grapes that match the desired wine character to find the optimal balance."

Oak barrels storing Tokaji Aszu wine.
Photo by Koo Eun-mo

A Long History Layered with the Passage of Time

Oremus wines undergo all processes from fermentation to aging in oak barrels before bottling. Instead of the commonly used French or American oak, Oremus uses Hungarian oak. Hungarian oak has a relatively strong bitter taste, so it is boiled in hot water to remove bitterness before making barrels.

Interestingly, the purpose of using oak barrels is less about extracting oak-derived flavors and more about achieving appropriate oxidation through micro-porosity. Master Bacso explained, "We do not use Hungarian oak because we want its unique characteristics to be strongly reflected in the wine. Rather, we use Hungarian oak to avoid the excessive woody aromas expected from French or American oak and to induce milder wood aromas and proper oxidation."

Oak barrels stored in the underground cellar of Tokaji Oremus Winery in Hungary.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

Bottled wines are stored in natural underground cellars within the winery. Master Bacso said, "Tokaji Aszu wines can be aged for decades, and an essential facility that makes this possible is the natural underground cellar." He explained, "When Tokaji wine was first produced in the 17th century, there were no refrigeration facilities to control temperature or humidity, but the existence of these underground cellars helped the aging and storage of Tokaji wines, allowing a long history to be built."

The underground cellar, shaped like a tunnel with brick walls, housed old wines and layers of time as dignified as Oremus's long history. The winery staff provided winter vests before entering, noting the significant temperature difference inside and outside. Upon opening the thick wooden door and entering, a cool atmosphere was felt immediately, with temperatures about 10°C lower than outside, around 10-12°C, and humidity on the walls reaching 80-90%, covered with old mold. The deeper one went, the more wines from the last century and even the century before were stored, reminding visitors of the winery's long heritage.

Old bottles of Tokaji wine stored in the underground cellar of Tokaji Oremus Winery in Hungary.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

Wine Hungarians Pass from Parents to Children... "Balance Between Sweetness and Bitterness"

In Hungary, there is a tradition involving Tokaji Aszu wine. Parents purchase and store Tokaji Aszu wine made from grapes harvested in the year their child was born and gift it when the child reaches adulthood or gets married. At first glance, this seems like a celebration of a meaningful time in the child's life, but if celebration alone were the purpose, Tokaji Aszu might not be necessary. There are already many wines associated with celebrations.

Oak barrels stored in the underground cellar of Tokaji Oremus Winery in Hungary.
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

Presumably, what parents truly want to give their children is the realization that life is about constantly finding balance between sweetness and bitterness. Tokaji Aszu, which has matured with them for over twenty years, will surely be sweet. But at the peak of sweetness, one will suddenly find a restless and uneasy heart, realizing the fading of brilliant sweetness. Watching this tangled heart, one eventually feels sorrow, as only a distant bitterness remains in the mouth.

Life is mostly bitter, and sweetness is fleeting. Fleeting sweetness is precious because it is rare and quickly disappears, inevitably connected to bitterness. No matter how excellent Tokaji Aszu's sweetness is, it cannot last forever. However, if one truly enjoys outstanding Tokaji Aszu, that fleeting sweetness will become a power to promise and await another sweetness to come. This is likely why Hungarian parents gift Tokaji Aszu to their children. Even if sweetness is merely a seed of bitterness that is fleeting, rather than succumbing to sorrow and collapsing, it is meant to be a driving force to enjoy another sweetness and ultimately live a life full of brilliant sweetness. With this heart, they offer Tokaji Aszu.

Tokaji Asz? wine from the Hungarian Tokaji Oremus Winery.
Photo by Koo Eun-mo