MA'D MOSER, Hungary

In 2022, it was just such a vision that led to a collaboration between Lenz Moser, Rita Takaro, Karoly Kovas (owner of the famed Ma’d Wines) and winemaker Gabor Urban to re-invent dry Furmint from Tokaj under the Mád Moser project. Their goal was to bring an exciting new interpretation of dry Furmint from one of the great, yet forgotten, wine regions to the world’s attention. Tokaj’s importance dates back to the early 16th century, when its wines became a status symbol among the aristocracy of Europe. All this was forgotten during the Communist era, when the vineyards were nationalized and tasked with producing cheap wine in bulk, but was rediscovered in the 1990s, when foreign investment poured in and local winemakers once again focused on making quality wines. Those from Mád Moser display great freshness, complexity and structure combined with the unique individual character of Hungary’s most famous grape. Slowly but surely, they are helping the country to regain its place among the world’s great wine-producing nations.

Viticulture

Focusing on the rediscovery of long-forgotten vineyards in a microclimate defined by the low-nutrient volcanic soils of the South- Zemplén Mountains, and the influence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, which provide favourable conditions for the development of Botrytis cinerea (noble rot) and its subsequent assimilation into the regions famous sweet wines. But now Tokaj in particular is building a strong reputation for incredible dry, age-worthy wines from Furmint, a style with barely two decades of history, yet the potential for greatness is undoubted.

Winemaking

Both wines were destemmed, with the MM5 fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, while the MM55 is fermented and aged for 8 months in 300 L Hungarian oak barrel (70% new oak) to give two different expressions of dry Furmint.