2018 Royal Tokaji, Szent Tamás 1st growth Dry Furmint Magnum

Szt. Tamás is a celebrated First Growth vineyard sloping southwest and overlooking the Royal Tokaji winery in Mád. The soil is rich, red clay interspersed with indigo and purple volcanic rocks on and below the surface. Summer was hot with temperatures often above 35℃, again accelerating maturation and the grapes ripened and were ready for picking earlier than ever before in the written history of Tokaji. We started the grape harvest for the dry wines in August, an extraordinary three weeks earlier than the previous record, and we picked the last Furmint grapes for dry styles at Szt. Tamás on the 10th of September, a date usually considered early for the start of the harvest for dry wines, let alone the finish.