Making Aszú wine is a painstaking process rooted in centuries of tradition. It is only possible under special circumstances that favour the development of the fungus Botrytis cinerea (noble rot), which transforms the grapes into precious Aszú berries.

In autumn, fog and dew envelop the Tokaj vineyards in moisture, letting the fungus penetrate the berries, increasing their concentration and rich aromas and flavours. Botrytis does not attack all the grapes at the same time, so the botrytised berries are picked by hand from each bunch in several passes. Harvesting is an artisanal process that takes several weeks. The botrytised grapes are macerated for several hours and, after a light pressing, three 25kg baskets of these noble Aszú berries (one basket is one puttonyo) are added to each 136-litre barrel of must (known as gönci). Fermentation takes place slowly over several weeks in new Hungarian oak barrels. The wine is then aged in 220- and 350-litre barrels for two years and then in bottle for at least another year.  

This wine is ready to drink now, but it has a cellaring potential of more than 15 years if kept in optimal conditions of temperature (12-14ºC, or 54-57ºF) and humidity (60%).