2016 Royal Tokaji Essencia

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 05, 2023Royal
Tokaji has released only eight vintages of Essencia in the last three decades:
1993, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2009. A fallow period ensued until the imminent
release of the 2016 in September/October, limited to 2,300 half-bottles in
individual red lacquer boxes with hand-crafted crystal spoons.

The
season witnessed uneven fruit set in spring followed by almost perfect
conditions, avoiding hailstorms in August. Widespread botrytis followed that
augured for a great harvest until rain spoiled September. Yet high-quality aszú
berries could be picked, several tries through the vineyard to select
perfectly raisined berries. Each picker gathered around five kilos of fruit per
day, and around 40 kilos are required to make just half a bottle of Essencia.
Consequently, picking was not finished until early November. The free-run aszú
juice, eked out by gravity drop by drop, was bottled in glass demijohns and
left to ferment in Royal Tokaji’s cool 13th-century cellars. Such high sugar
levels meant aging creeps along at a snail’s pace. By December 2019, there was
still only 1.9% alcohol, the whopping 535g/L residual sugar counterbalanced by
the 15.5g/L acidity.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1693587916336-essencia+2016.jpg">I
received one of the half-bottles, which I proffered at lunch in mid-June. A
spoonful or two were given to my Hungarian next-door neighbors. The remnants,
two months later, still in my fridge, taste just as fresh. The moral of this
story is: Don’t feel you have to drink it all immediately, and just like eating
too much confectionary, Essencia is best consumed in small doses. 

The 2016
Essencia is a refulgent deep gold color. There’s no dabbling on the nose as
it bursts with scents of Clementine, Japanese yuzu, quince and marmalade, all
the tropes one expects from a Tokaji. Yet this being Essencia, those flavors
are amplified without any loss in delineation. The palate is as unctuous as you
expect, lacquering the inside of the mouth (and this is why a spoon is
included, not for show, but the most efficient means for transferring the wine
straight onto the tongue.) The tastebuds tingle with glee, reveling in untrammeled
sweetness, effortlessly offset by that razor-sharp acidity that renders it not
cloying in the slightest. Purer than an angelic choirboy, the 2016 is armed
with immense tension on the citric finish that offers Seville orange marmalade,
strawberry, mandarin and quince. Outrageous and yet sophisticated and probably
indestructible. 98/Drink 2023-2200.© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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