Dereszla Tokaji Dry from Lidl

An elegant dry Tokaji selected by Richard Bampfield for Lidl's Wine Tour

Historically, all Tokaji was sweet dessert wine. It is only in this century that winemakers have started making dry Tokaji.

At a tasting of mainly dry Tokaji for #FurmintFebruary, I concluded that Furmint is Hungary's answer to Chardonnay (Chardonnay is one of its parents) and Tokaji its Burgundy; the wines are structured yet elegant and nuanced.

This Lidl Tokaji is from Dereszla, a winery founded in 1999 by a French family, and selected by a Master of Wine.

Dereszla Tokaji Dry by Lidl, 2018 (£7.99) acacia blossom, honeysuckle, yellow stone fruits; fresh, and poised with saline minerality; the elegance of a Burgundy at a fraction of the price.

Drinks beautifully straight out of the bottle, opens up with aeration and will improve with age.

Good and good value.

Richard scores this 89, the same as the Saint Emilion and one less than the Riesling-Scheurebe; clearly there's not much in it technically but this is my favourite of the three.