DANCH & GRANGER SELECTIONS
Importer of Memorable Wines from the New Old World of Eastern and Central Europe
Importer of Memorable Wines from the New Old World of Eastern and Central Europe

Bott, Tokaj, Hungary

“When we succeed, it brings joy to others that is generously given back to us. Since wine forms the quality of our lives, we like living this way.” — Judit Bodó

Winery map

At a Glance

2006
http://www.bottpince.hu/
Tokaj
Cool Continental
Clay, limestone and obsidian
170-200m
Low hills and landscapes of vines and forests
Furmint, Hárslevelű
9 hectares
Sustainable
Judit and József Bodó
Judit and József Bodó

The People

The wines of Tokaj are the product of over 1200 years of melting together different cultures, religions, and ethnicities over a truly unique combination of geology and climate. In a way, József and Judit Bodó, both originally from Csallóköz, an ethnic Hungarian region in Slovakia are perpetuating this tradition of cultural exchange.

Following her love for wine Judit went to work for a producer in South Tirol who later hired her onto a project in Tokaj managing the affairs of a small artisan winery: Füleky. Heeding the dream of his wife to have their own winery in Tokaj, József took on the labor of actually looking for vineyards. Upon discovering Csontos, Judit said, “he could not sleep at night.” After the birth of their son, they focused solely on their own family winery with József in the vineyards and Judit in the cellar. In 2005 they bottled wine from just 1 ha, the first vintage of “Bott,” an homage to Judit’s maiden name.

Today the couple tends about 5 ha spread among various sites mostly near the village of Erdőbénye. Wines are made exclusively from indigenous varieties. According to Judit, “When we succeed it brings joy to others that is generously given back to us. Since wine forms the quality of our lives, we like living this way.” There is a maternal touch to the wines she makes, to compare them to children, they are as disciplined as they are loved. Despite making very little wine, Judit and József have made Bott one of Tokaj’s most respected new producers, not just in Tokaj, but all of Hungary.


Driving towards Hatari
Driving towards the Hatari vineyard

Vineyards

Closer to Erdőbénye, the Határi vineyard is along the same slopes bordering the Zemplèn forest as the Csontos vineyards, but are instead more western than southern facing. With only 1.5 hectare currently cultivated, the soil is clayey and chock-full of broken up limestone, rhyolite-tufa, and obsidian. Tending to the 35 years-old vines by hand, the Furmint produces wonderfully full-bodied dry wines while the Hárslevelű takes on a special sweetness while remaining particularly mineral which makes it ideal as the base for their Aszú and late harvest wines.


Csontos Vineyard
The Csontos Vineyard at night

Winemaking

As is common among some of the best vignerons in Tokaj, Judit and her family personally harvest the fruit ensuring the strictest of sorting. The newly built winery is still small and the equipment consists of relics like an antique wooden press and a medieval looking bladder press from the 60’s. Despite looking less than ideal Judit contends that this equipment forces her to be especially attentive, which ultimately benefits her wines. Wines are fermented slowly in mostly used 220 liter oak barrels with native yeast over a period of 6-8 weeks. This protracted fermentation enhances the elegance and texture of Bott wines. Wines remain in barrel between 7-10 months depending on the vineyard and vintage and are topped regularly. Depending on the vintage and character of a particular vineyard, wines may have residual sugar as Judit lets every barrel finish fermentation without intervention.

The substantial acclaim the Bott wines have received both locally and internationally is remarkable. Judit Bott was recently featured in a New York Times article on Tokaj Hidden in Hungary,Treasures on the Vine.


 
BottCsontos Furmint 2018
White Wine
Furmint;
14.7%
7.3 g/l
4.8 g/l
Furmint has the triple threat of balancing incredibly high acidity, the weight of residual sugar, and being highly susceptible to Botrytis. The mixture of clay and volcanic soils also imparts a chalk-like texture coupled with dried fruit, honey, spice and a mineral backbone. Fermented slowly with native yeasts at uncontrolled temperatures, it’s remarkable how true to place it remains. Judit and Jószef prepared roasted goat on our last visit and the Csontos came alive when paired with the strong gamey flavors of the meat and the sweetness of the caramelized vegetables.

BottCsontos Furmint 2020
White Wine
Furmint;
12.9%
4.5 g/l
5.4 g/l
This was their first commercial single vineyard back in 2005. We’ve been working with it since the 2009 vintage. That being said, 2020 was a real pain. A super rainy and cold autumn had sugar slowly accumulating to the point where for the very first time, they did one night on the skins to coax out all that they could. 30% was lost on the vine as well. The 2018 was nearly 15% alcohol, 2020 is barely 13%. Thankfully, Furmint has the remarkable ability to balance acidity and residual sugar. The rich brown forest soil augmented with slate and rhyolite also imparts a chalk-like texture coupled with dried fruit, honey, spice and a mineral backbone. One of the last families to own this site before the World Wars were the Zsedényi’s. Despite being a prominent noble, Ede Zsedényi was apparently a little off, and used to dress like a homeless pauper around town. This shabby excellence is their inspiration for the best vintages from this site. It’s also apt here.

BottHatári Cuvée 2016
White Wine
Furmint; Hárslevelű;
12.2%
4.8 g/l
4.6 g/l
Closer to Erdőbénye, the Határi vineyard is along the same slopes bordering the Zemplèn forest as the Csontos vineyards, but are instead more western than southern facing. With only 1.5 hectare currently cultivated, the soil is clayey and chock-full of broken up limestone, rhyolite-tufa, and obsidian. Tending to the 35 years-old vines by hand, the Furmint produces wonderfully full-bodied dry wines with plenty of minerality and acidity. Thin-skinned and late ripening, Hárslevelü is the delicately perfumed counterpart part to furmints more strong-armed acidity and spice. Pair this cuvée with rich, spicy Asian dishes.

BottHatári Cuvée 2019
White Wine
Furmint; Hárslevelű;
13.4%
4.5 g/l
5.8 g/l
Closer to Erdőbénye, the Határi vineyard is along the same slopes bordering the Zemplèn forest as the Csontos vineyards, but are instead more western than southern facing. With only 1.5 hectare currently cultivated, the soil is clayey and chock-full of broken up limestone, rhyolite-tufa, and obsidian. Tending to the 35 years-old vines by hand, the Furmint produces wonderfully full-bodied dry wines with plenty of minerality and acidity. Thin-skinned and late ripening, Hárslevelű is the delicately perfumed counterpart part to furmints more strong-armed acidity and spice. Pair this cuvée with rich, spicy Asian dishes.

BottKulcsár Hárslevelű 2019
White Wine
Hárslevelű;
12.5%
6.8 g/l
5.8 g/l
This has been one of their single vineyards that has grown on me over the years. It’s at the foot of a volcano where supposedly a large layer of lava flowed over. After millions of years of erosion, it’s extremely nutrient poor (little to no loam or humus), always gives a high extract and forces the roots to go deep. Planted 45 years ago, it was so rocky (tons of rhyolite) that the local wine council extracted stones to help build a local road. Aromatic, which is typical for Hárslevelű, this is like drinking out of a quartz bowl with a chalk rim.

BottKulcsár Hárslevelű 2021
White Wine
Hárslevelű;
14%
8.4 g/l
7.1 g/l
This has been one of their single vineyards that has grown on us over the years. It’s at the foot of a volcano where supposedly a large layer of lava flowed over. After millions of years of erosion, it’s extremely nutrient poor (little to no loam or humus), always gives a high extract and forces the roots to go deep. Planted nearly 50 years ago, it was so rocky (tons of rhyolite) that the local wine council extracted stones to help build a local road. Flinty aromatics and a needed few grams of RS, this is like drinking out of a quartz bowl with a chalk rim.

BottSzamorodni Édes 2017
Dessert Wine
Furmint; Hárslevelű;
11.4%
128.8 g/l
6.48 g/l
This is the first sweet wine we’ve imported from Judit and József. For one, they only make it in exceptional vintages because their standard for botrytis is very high. There has to be at least 50% botrytis per cluster and they often need to make more than 6 passes on the same vine to accomplish this. The 2017 is all from the Csontos vineyard where they have the most experience farming. They want both healthy botrytis and healthy non-botrytized grapes, not just a deluge of botrytis. Less oxidative than Aszú but far more layered than a late harvest, this is just pure delicious.

BottTeleki 2021
White Wine
Furmint; Hárslevelű;
14.5%
3.2 g/l
7.8 g/l
This is a 80+ year old stake trained loess heavy vineyard on the southern side of Tokaj Hill planted with both Hárslevelű and Furmint. They rarely if ever have to make cluster selections here, there’s just a strong natural balance and immunity built in. What grows is what is picked. 2021 was the longest spring in memory. Flowering came one month later than normal with really high sugar and acidity. Furmint shares a parent grape with Riesling, and it really shows in this vintage. Bright acids are rounded out in barrel and Judit is hoping to age some for a min of 10 years. Over a 110 years for the limited amount of Aszú. In other words, it has the alcohol and acidity for aging, but it’s also a real electric treat while young.