Hungary: Its Fine Wines and Winemakers [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONby Michaci Broadbcnc, Master of Wine of Christie's LondonDavid Copp is an old friend, but until he invited mc to write an introduction to his book I was unaware as to tlie extent of his passion for the wines of Hungary - which, incidentally, I share.My immediate reaction was to say that I would be delighted and honoured, but could I first see the final draft of the book to appraise the contents and David's approach. I read the book from start to finish and realised how thin and superficial was my own knowledge of the subject, and how richly detailed was his.To be honest, my original interest was in the wines of Tokaj, which I long considered one of the greatest but least-known classic wines of Europe. The reputation of Tokaji Aszú wines predates that of both the Rheingau and Sauternes, and indeed that of Bordeaux as we know it today. By the early 18th century Tokaji wines were popular with Popes, in great demand by the royalty and nobility of France, Poland and Russia, and, somewhat later, became something of a cult wine collected and consumed by the English aristocracy. Tokaj was the first region to classify its vineyards according to the quality of botrytised grapes produced.When I joined Christie's in 1966 to head up a new specialised wine auction department, one of the first things I did was to research the archives to see what wines were being bought and sold at Christie's two centuries ago. James Christie's first-ever auction was held in December 1766, when 'fine claret' (red Bordeaux) and 'fine old Madeira' made up most of the lots in a mixed sale.Not long after that, on the 17th January 1770, Tokaji wines made the first of many appearances in the Christie's saleroom. The wines were included in a sale on behalf of His Excellency Count de Sielerns, whose cellar was almost next door to Christie's in St James's Square.The high regard for Tokaji at that time is demonstrated by a particularly interesting auction held on 26th June 1793 on behalf of a French merchant offering for sale, I quote: '6 casks, each of 38 gallons (over 170 litres) of the remarkably fine vintage of 1777 which has been stored in casks since that time whereby it is meliorated (sic) into a richness of flavour superior to any kind ever imported.' High praise indeed.At another auction the following year, on 5th March 1794, '4 dozen bottles of genuine, old rich Tokaji of a most superior quality' were sold for six shillings a bottle - six times the price of'Excellent Burgundy' and ten times the price of'Finely flavoured claret'!Throughout the 19th century, the best Tokaji - and indeed other wines - came from the estates of the Hungarian nobility, whose power and wealth was destroyed by 'the Great War'. Old vintage wines from these estates came to the market in the 1920s. The London wine