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Topi Kuusinen
 
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Nils Gustaf Lindgren wrote:

> Hello;
> A friend of mine expressed a wish to taste the legendary Eszenszia (any
> Hungarophones, please excuse my no doubt impossible spelling).
> This wine is not currently on the Swedish Systembolaget (as far as I know),
> but, on my regular auction site idealWine.com, ten bottles were offered for
> bidding, with a hoped for price of c eu 55 (HALF BOTTLE).
> Now, this means that they have, possibly, been produced by the Borkombinat -
> not one of the most wildly applauded producers of all time. What could be
> expected from this wine? Oxidization galore? Nectar?



Hi Nils,

Some time ago the Finnish Alko had the 1988 Disznökö Aszu Eszencia (SP?)
for sale at an outrageously low price (if memory serves me right, around
30 euros per 0,5 litre bottle) and I bought 6 bottles.

Anyway, it's about everything you could expect from a Borkombinat era
Tokaji, just more so (MUCH more so).

Very good, sweet (very), raisins and other dried fruit, with good
balanced finish and an incredibly long aftertaste. Oxidation, yes, but
really no more than in any of the other Tokajis of the time.

If you have the chance, I recommend trying it with vanilla ice cream and
cloudberry jam. Or just by itself; it's a really rich wine.

Cheers,

-Topi Kuusinen, Finland

PS: I briefly visited Stockholm last week and went to the Systembolaget
at Regeringsgatan. I envy you for the choice you have there. Despite the
propaganda of the Finnish monopoly, Alko, their wine assortment is very
predictable and highly uninteresting.

I was returning home from a motorcycle trip, so space was at a premium.
Otherwise I would have bought a couple of bottles of 2001 Geheimrat "J"
Riesling Spätlese Trocken (199 SEK, if I remember correctly), now I just
packed a couple of bottles of late '90s six putt Tokaji.