2007 Chateau Pajzos Tokaji 3 Puttonyos, 500ml

Chateau Pajzos is one of Hungary’s most admired producers of Tokaji, the white dessert wine made famous by Hungarian winemakers as far back as the 17th century. The wine region called Tokaj-Hegyalja is in northeastern Hungary, and by the 19th century the finest wines from the region were being imported into the imperial courts of Russia and western Europe. The sweet wines were often called “the king of wines” as well as “the wine of kings.” Tokaji production languished during the decades when Hungary was under Soviet rule, but since the early 1990s Tokaji production has enjoyed a renaissance as private investors have bought the centuries-old estates and brought them into the 21st century. Chateau Pajzos was bought by investors in 1991 and is now owned by Jean-Louis Laborde, who also owns Chateau Clinet in Bordeaux and several other wineries in Europe. Wine Spectator has called Chateau Pajzos Esszencia “one of the world’s great dessert wines.”