21st April 2018, Tokaj – The highest number of lots to date were bid for at the sixth Great Tokaj Wine Auction on 21st April, with Tokaji wines bringing a total hammer price of over 60 000 euros (over £56 000). Bidding was lively from London wine club 67 Pall Mall via a live video link where active bidders purchased nearly 20 000 (£17 000) euros of wine. Though the majority of the wines are from recent vintages, a 5 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú 1963 went under the hammer for a record 450 euros (£394) a bottle.
The three-day event is the sixth organised by the Confrérie de Tokaj. “This year was special in several respects: the 2017 vintage gave us outstanding quality wines, the number of lots broke previous records and the highest number of producers to date bought a total of 33 wines with the final hammer price over 60 000 euros,” said István Szepsy, president of the Confrérie. The Confrérie’s income from the Auction will be invested in the historic wine region in development projects promoting areas such as tourism.
Unique wines, not available elsewhere
The wine auction brings an array of unusual and exceptional wines, the very best of Tokaj. Lots offered are both wines still in the barrel and some already bottled and cover the range of Tokaji wines from Furmint and Hárslevelű, late harvests, sweet and dry Szamorodnis, and, naturally, the noble sweet 5 and 6 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú for which the region is most famous. This year saw new wineries participating as well as the largest number of producers to date, each of which brought a unique wine that is only available at the Confrérie’s annual Auction. These special wines are part of the Confrérie’s mission to “Open the treasure chest that is Tokaj”, said board member Péter Molnár in his opening speech.
The most unusual lot was a dozen bottles of 1963 Tokaji Aszú 5 puttonyos from Grand Tokaj which went under the hammer at a record lot price of €5,500, that is over €450 euros per bottle.
“The aim of the Great Tokaj Wine Auction is to present the Tokaj Wine Region, its outstanding quality Tokaji Aszú and Hungary. The historic wine region has been part of UNESCO World Heritage since 2002, a terroir whose wines naturally enjoy protected designation of origin status. We would like this unique terroir and its superb wines to be recognised throughout the world,” said Laurent Comas, member of the Confrérie de Tokaj board.
Live bidding with link to London
International interest and increasing Confrérie activity outside Hungary resulted in wine lovers at the exclusive London wine club, 67 Pall Mall, being able to bid in the auction via live video link. A selection of dry and sweet wines worth nearly 20 000 euros went to London.
“Collectors, wine merchants and wine clubs have all bid at the Auction, and the same is true this year. We would like to continue to increase the number of participants from outside Hungary so we are delighted that 67 Pall Mall in London has joined the action. We hope that in 2019 we will also have another live link, this time to the USA,” added Laurent Comas. The next Great Tokaj Wine Auction will be held 27th April 2019.
