Tokaj vs Sauternes
Two botrytised sweet whites shaped by river mists: Tokaj in Hungary's far northeast, where Furmint is the most planted grape, and Sauternes south-east of Bordeaux, where Sémillon is the main variety.
Decanter (2022) describes Sauternes and Tokaj as sharing a similar mesoclimate for botrytis: river-fed mists on autumn mornings, then sunny afternoons that keep the fungus in check. The differences lie in the grapes and the method. Sauternes is made principally from Sémillon, and its botrytised berries are pressed and fermented; Tokaji Aszú is led by Furmint, and its shrivelled Aszú berries are soaked in grape juice, young wine or fermenting must to extract their sweetness and flavour. Decanter contributing editor Stephen Brook finds the two increasingly difficult to tell apart blind, while calling "the higher acidity and raciness of Aszú wines" a major difference.
Tokaj lies in Hungary's far northeast, so close to the border that a small part of the region is in Slovakia, according to Decanter (2018). WSET (2024) places the vineyards on the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, where a moderate climate and rivers such as the Bodrog and Tisza generate humid mornings for noble rot, followed by sunny afternoons. GuildSomm (2016) adds that the Bodrog meets the Tisza in the village of Tokaj, and that moisture from the flood-prone Bodrogköz between the two rivers is pushed towards vineyards protected from northerly winds by the Zemplén Forest.
INAO's specification places Sauternes about forty kilometres south-east of Bordeaux on the left bank of the Garonne, with the oceanic climate of the Bordeaux area: mild, humid winters and moderately warm summers that allow slow ripening. INAO attributes noble rot to condensation where the Ciron meets the Garonne, bringing abundant humidity at night that alternates with rapid, strong ventilation by day. Decanter (2022) describes the Ciron as the cooler tributary feeding into the warmer Garonne, with warm, sunny afternoons reducing the moisture.
GuildSomm (2016) says that after 20 million years of volcanic activity Tokaj's deeper subsoil is mostly tuff, with windblown loess dominating in the south and on Tokaj Hill and a mixture of rock and clay, locally called nyirok, covering the rest; other volcanic soils include rhyolite, andesite, dacite, bentonite, zeolite, kaolin, opal and obsidian. Decanter (2018) describes a region of hundreds of extinct volcanoes, where undersea seismic activity twelve million years ago, under the Pannonian Sea, created the porous volcanic rock that lets vine roots grow deep, and reports single-vineyard wines as a strong recent trend.
INAO's specification describes the Sauternes soils as varied (gravelly, clayey, siliceous and limestone) over a subsoil that is most often clay but also gravel or limestone and sometimes alios, with gravel-sand mounds resting on a Tertiary limestone base that lies close to the surface above all in Barsac. bordeaux.com describes alluvial and sandy-gravel layers combined with silt and clayey sand, and says this mix ensures excellent drainage.
Decanter's 2018 Tokaj guide gives the plantings as Furmint 69%, Hárslevelű 18%, Sárga Muskotály (Yellow Muscat) 9%, and Zéta, Kövérszőlő and Kabar together 4%. WSET's Level 2 session plans describe Furmint as naturally high in acidity and very susceptible to botrytis, and name it the most planted variety of the Tokaj region. When making Tokaji Aszú, Furmint is typically supported by Hárslevelű and Muscat to add fruitiness and fragrance, according to Caroline Gilby MW in Decanter (2022).
INAO's specification permits Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon, and names Sémillon as the main variety. INAO describes Sémillon's berries as thick-skinned and particularly suited to botrytisation, while Decanter (2022) attributes its susceptibility to botrytis to thin skins. Decanter calls Sauvignon Blanc the crucial blending partner, providing fresh acidity and lift, and bordeaux.com describes Muscadelle as a minority variety that adds floral and fruity notes.
Aszú berries are harvested one by one, and Decanter (2021) says a good picker may visit each vine four or five times and pick less than 10kg a day; the berries are then crushed and soaked in grape juice, young wine or, most commonly today, fermenting must. Caroline Gilby MW told Decanter (2022): "Sauternes are made from berries that are still juicy and can be pressed and fermented. The Aszú berries, however, are so raisined and dry." WSET (2024) lists the other Tokaji styles: Eszencia from the free-run juice of botrytised grapes, with residual sugar above 450g/L and alcohol typically under 5%; late harvest wines; Szamorodni from a mix of healthy and botrytised grapes, in sweet and dry forms; and dry whites made primarily from Furmint.
The Sauternes appellation is reserved for still white wines, and INAO requires grapes picked by hand in successive passes (tries successives): pickers select the "rôtis" berries with scissors vine by vine, followed by two or three further passes, or more, depending on the weather. According to INAO, the pressed grapes ferment very slowly until the alcohol level kills the yeasts, leaving wines still rich in sugar. Decanter (2022) describes the fermentation as often taking place in partial or all-new barriques, until the alcohol level reaches around 14%.
Tokaji sweetness was traditionally measured by the number of buckets (puttony) of Aszú berries added to a 136L gönci barrel, but Decanter (2021) reports that 2013 regulations removed the three and four puttonyos categories: all Aszú must now reach at least 120g/L of residual sugar (five puttonyos), and six puttonyos at least 150g/L. The Drinks Business (2026) reports a revised Tokaj specification, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, requiring Tokaji Aszú to have a minimum of 9% actual alcohol, 19% total potential alcohol and 6g per litre acidity, and to mature for at least 18 months in barrel, with Aszú berries still harvested by hand.
INAO's specification treats grapes below 221 grams of sugar per litre of must as not properly ripe, sets a minimum natural alcohol of 15% and a minimum acquired alcohol of 12%, requires at least 45 grams per litre of fermentable sugars (glucose and fructose) in any lot, fixes the yield at 25 hectolitres per hectare, bans any phytosanitary product with a specific anti-botrytis action, and requires ageing until at least 15 March of the year after the harvest. For comparison with Aszú's 120g/L and 150g/L levels, WSET (2024) gives Sauternes a range of 100 to 220g/L.
Decanter (2018) says Tokaj has possibly the oldest vineyard classification in the world, produced in 1707-1708, and that a royal decree of 1737 defined the region and the villages permitted to use the name, arguably the first controlled appellation; UNESCO listed the Tokaj wine region as a World Heritage Cultural Historic Landscape in 2002. The Aszú method was first mentioned in writing in 1571 (Decanter, 2021). GuildSomm (2016) counts 27 villages in the Tokaj PDO and reported that, of 11,000 potential hectares, fewer than 6,000 were then planted.
INAO traces the Sauternes AOC to a decree of 30 September 1936 and limits it to five Gironde communes: Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac and Sauternes. bordeaux.com says Napoleon III asked Bordeaux's brokers for the 1855 classification for the Paris Universal Exhibition; it has three levels for white wines and counts 27 châteaux in Sauternes and Barsac, with Château d'Yquem the one and only Premier Cru Supérieur. On size, bordeaux.com (consulted 2026) counts 1,200 hectares of vines and 140 winegrowers, Decanter (2022) cites 1,900 hectares, and INAO's specification recorded more than 2,200 hectares in 2010.
WSET's Level 2 session plans describe a typical Tokaji Aszú as amber in colour from significant periods in oak, with fresh and dried stone fruits (apricots), citrus fruits, oak-derived aromas (vanilla, smoke) and tertiary aromas (dried fruit, caramel, nuts); sweet, full-bodied and balanced by high acidity, with a long, intense finish, and able to develop complex flavours for many years in bottle. WSET (2024) adds flavours of orange peel, apricots and honey.
WSET's Level 2 session plans describe a typical Sauternes as sweet, medium to high in alcohol and full-bodied with high acidity, with pronounced stone fruit (apricot) and oak characters (smoke, vanilla), able to mature for many years in bottle and develop dried fruit, honey and caramel. bordeaux.com describes young Sauternes with citrus (orange, grapefruit), white flowers and orchard fruit, and with time spices (cinnamon, saffron), tropical fruit, nuts and dried and candied fruit, along with an amber colour and velvety texture.
Caroline Gilby MW, writing in Decanter (2021), matches five puttonyos Tokaji with pâté, light cheeses and fruit-based desserts such as apple crumble, poached pears or fruit tart, and six puttonyos with full-flavoured blue cheeses or pâté, suggesting Asian-spiced savoury dishes such as Peking duck with plum sauce for more ambitious chefs. WSET (2024) pairs dry Tokaj styles with seafood, poultry or creamy pasta dishes.
bordeaux.com says Sauternes can be enjoyed throughout a meal, from starter to dessert, with traditional dishes (foie gras, cheese, chicken) or more unexpected pairings such as tapas, seafood and sushi.
Choose Tokaji Aszú for a sweet wine that WSET describes as balanced by high acidity, made by soaking hand-picked Aszú berries, and held since 2013 to a legal minimum of 120g/L of residual sugar (Decanter). Choose Sauternes for a Sémillon-led sweet white from grapes picked by hand in successive passes, from an appellation whose 27 châteaux are ranked in the 1855 classification (bordeaux.com). WSET's Level 2 session plans treat the two as alternatives when tasting a very good or outstanding sweet wine.
- Botrytis mists: in Tokaj the Bodrog meets the Tisza in the village of Tokaj (GuildSomm, 2016); in Sauternes, INAO links noble rot to condensation where the Ciron meets the Garonne.
- Grapes: Furmint 69% and Hárslevelű 18% of Tokaj plantings (Decanter, 2018); Sauternes permits Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle, with Sémillon the main variety (INAO).
- Sweetness rules: since 2013 all Tokaji Aszú needs at least 120g/L residual sugar and six puttonyos at least 150g/L (Decanter, 2021); Sauternes needs grapes of at least 221g/L sugar per litre of must, 15% minimum natural alcohol and 12% minimum acquired alcohol, at 25 hl/ha (INAO).
- Classification: Tokaj's vineyard classification of 1707-1708 and royal decree of 1737 (Decanter, 2018); Sauternes AOC by decree of 30 September 1936 (INAO) and 27 châteaux in the 1855 classification, with Château d'Yquem the only Premier Cru Supérieur (bordeaux.com).
- Sources: the figures here come from INAO, bordeaux.com, WSET, Decanter, GuildSomm and The Drinks Business, listed in full under Sources and last verified below.
Sources and last verified
Sources: https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/4-CDC-Sauternes-PNO.pdf, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/graves-sauternes/sauternes/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/classifications-1855/, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2024/tokaji-decoded-the-science-behind-hungary-s-iconic-sweet-wines, https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/13022/wset_l2wines_sessionplans_en_may2023_issue2.pdf, https://www.decanter.com/learn/whats-the-difference-between-sauternes-and-tokaji-aszu-ask-decanter-472562/, https://www.decanter.com/learn/advice/tokaji-sweetness-measured-aszu-430218/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/europe/tokaj-travel-guide-3787/, https://www.decanter.com/features/a-wines-lovers-guide-to-sauternes-481327/, https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/eric-danch/posts/tokaj-part-one, https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2026/03/tokaj-appellation-rules-revised-in-hungary/. Last verified 2026-09-28.
