Oremus de Vega Sicilia - Tokaj Aszu 5 Puttonyos 2010
Oremus belongs to Vega Sicilia, the renowned Spanish producer from Ribera del Duero. In Latin, Oremus means “Let us pray”. The Tokaj area, Tokaj-Hegyalja is located on a mountain chain in north-eastern Hungary. The town of Tolcsva and the Oremus wineries are located in geographical centre of that region. In 1993, just 3 years after the fall of Communism, the Alvarez family turned its sights to Hungary and founded Tokaj-Oremus Viñedos y Bodegas. The estate's activities are mainly based in Tolcsva, where a modern winemaking winery was built in 1999 and is connected to the maze of cellars that have been found there since the 13th century. In order to manage the new project, which was based around one of the best located and most iconic vineyards of the region, it recruited a driven professional team, with in-depth knowledge of the land, and it looked for an experienced and full-time local winemaker to place it at the head of that group.
The production of the Aszú wine (“Wine of tears”) is a meticulous process, which requires great patience and extensive know-how. It is only possible in good vintages, when nature brings rain at the end of the summer and sun and wind in early autumn, which are the essential conditions for the process for noble berries to from. The berries swollen due to the humidity split and the Botrytis Cinérea establishes in its skin and creates the noble rot. To the must in a Gönc barrel, that is 136-litres, five 23-kg panniers ("Puttony" in Hungarian) of Aszú noble berries are added. The Aszú noble berries are macerated with the must and then wait for one day or two for the berries to swell and they are then pressed. The fermentation of the Aszú must is a slow process that can sometimes last up to two months. It is then put into wood barrels and is left in a protected wine press, waiting for the fermentation to stop by itself. A little “Eszencia”, which has been collected drop by drop from the Aszú berries, is then added. The Aszú wines are aged in 136-litre (called "Gönc") and 220-litre ("Szerednye") small barrels. Oak from the mountains that border the winemaking region is used to manufacture the barrels. The Aszú ageing takes place in underground wineries dug out in the volcanic soil. The wine is left to age here for 2 to 3 years, at a constant temperature and degree of humidity. After being bottled, the Oremus Aszú is left to continue ageing in the bottle for a year.
Grape varieties: Furmint-dominant
