Oremus, Mandolas Furmint Dry, Tokaj 2022 - 75cl
Most people meet Furmint as a sweet Tokaji dessert wine, so its dry side comes as a genuine surprise — and Oremus makes one of the benchmarks. This is the estate owned by the Álvarez family of Vega Sicilia, who bought it in the early 1990s and applied the same seriousness they bring to Ribera del Duero. Mandolás is their dry Furmint, grown on the volcanic slopes around Tolcsva in the heart of Tokaj.
Furmint is a naturally high-acid grape, and that acidity is the whole point here. The 2022 pours a bright lemon-gold. On the nose you get orchard fruit — apple and ripe pear — with apricot, honeysuckle and a faintly toasty, brioche edge from a spell in older oak. Underneath it all runs a chalky, almost saline minerality that marks out good Tokaj white.
The palate is where it earns its keep. There's a creamy weight to the entry, then that razor of citrus acidity cuts straight through — lime, lemon pith, a stony grip on the finish. It drinks like a leaner, more mineral cousin of white Burgundy, and it will happily sit in the cellar for a few years yet. Give it time in the glass; it opens and softens as it warms.
How to Serve
Chill to around 8–10°C and pour into a proper white wine glass rather than something small — that acidity and mineral character need room to show. No need to rush it; five minutes of air does it good.
Where to Drink It
Noble Rot in Lamb's Conduit Street, whose list champions exactly this kind of high-acid, mineral white. The Quality Chop House for its clever wine pairings. Bright in Hackney, for a plate of something raw and a glass poured with intent.
Food Pairings
I'd reach for it with roast chicken and a squeeze of lemon, or grilled trout. The acidity also does something lovely with a wedge of aged Comté.
