Historic First Class classification, former royal estate. The Szarvas vineyard is the exclusive domain of the Grand Tokaj Winery on the Kopasz Hill in Tokaj, which means that only our winery has vineyards here. It is located at the southernmost point of the wine region, on the south-facing slope of the Tokaj Hill. It is one of the two vineyards in the region that were classified as ‘above first class’, or special production area, in 1737. It was owned by the Rákóczi family for many years, and then by the Habsburg emperors and the Hungarian king between 1715 and 1918. The soil structure of the vineyard is thick silt with a black volcanic dacite subsoil, which is easily heated by the covering soil, therefore the growing season here is longer than average. The alignment of the vines are mountain to valley oriented, with the length of the alignment varying with the degree of slope. Its role is mainly to reduce erosion. Its exceptional position in the autumn months helps to preserve the early morning mist from the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, which, with its constant wind and autumn sunshine, has an excellent microclimate for producing aszú grapes. Its cultivation is medium-high cane pruning, with moderate to low stress, which is the basis for the production of wines of outstanding value and flavor. The area is cultivated in an environmentally friendly way, within the framework of AKG management system.
Vineyard area: 39 hectares
Grape varieties: Furmint, Hárslevelű, Muskotály, Zéta
History:
The area was part of the historic vineyard of Mézesmál (Mezezmaal, Mesesmaal). The origin of its name is linked to the ripening of the grapes, which is a reference to the fact that the grapes ripen well in the area. The vineyard was first mentioned in 1280 as the vineyard of the Premonstratensian Abbey of the Holy Cross in Ipolyság. Originally, the Mézesmál stretched from the western border of present-day Tokaj to the western border of Tarcal. The fragmentation of Mézesmál began in the 15th and 16th centuries. This gave rise to, among others, the Hétszőlő, Nagyszőlő or Szerelmi (formerly known as Szerémy) vineyards. Mézesmál should not, however, be confused with the Mézes-Mály vineyard, which was established in 1749 by order of the Viennese Court. This area included the westernmost edge of the historic Mézesmál.
The Szarvas was named after the Szarvas noble family of Zemplén county, who had estates there in the 16th century, on the eastern border of the town of Tarcal. According to the 1564 census of the Tokaj castle dominion, the Szarvas family of noble origin (‘Szarvas Ambrus’ by name – Ambrosius Zarvas) lived in Tarcal and owned vineyards. The family died out at the end of the 16th century, and its vineyards were acquired by the Privigyei and Sakaróczky families and the noble Sípos families in the early 17th century. The arrival of the Rákóczi family as landowners was a significant moment in the history of the Szarvas estate. At this time, György I. Rákóczi (1593-1648), later Prince of Transylvania, bought the vineyard of the Privigyei family on 18 July 1624. Subsequently, the later Prince of Transylvania, thanks to his excellent economic sense, purchased further well-endowed vineyards in the Szarvas, thus beginning the so-called Rákóczi era of Szarvas vineyard ownership. In 1644, György Rákóczi I annexed the Szarvas to the Zeleméry Estate, which belonged to the family, along with several other vineyards in Tarcal, and in the censuses of the following decades, it was always recorded as the most important vineyard of the family. In the 1679 and 1686 censuses of the Rákóczi manorial vineyards, carried out by the Chamber of Szepes, it was recorded that the Szarvas vineyard (vinea Szarvas) was one of the dozen or so vineyards that almost always produced excellent main and aszú wine. In 1699, Julianna Rákóczi (1672-1717) and Ferenc Rákóczi II (1676-1735) divided the family estates after a long dispute, and the Szarvas vineyard became the property of Ferenc Rákóczi. At the end of the 17th century, a part of Szarvas called Szarvas alja (Szarvasallya) was separated within Szarvas, which also proved to be an excellent aszú-producing area. According to the census of 1707, besides the Rákóczi and the aforementioned Szentiványi families, the Bilkei, Schirer, Szepessy and Vas noble families owned the vineyards. After the Rákóczi War of Independence, the Bilkei, Rákóczi, Szepessy and Vass families lost their vineyards in Tokaj-Hegyalja, while the Schirer family sold their vineyards to the court. These lands became the property of the Treasury and have remained virtually state property to this day.
A significant change in the life of the Szarvas vineyard took place in the mid-18th century, when in 1749 Count György Grassalkovich, the Chamber Inspector, on behalf of the Imperial and Royal Court, enlarged the Szarvas vineyard, merging old vineyards, already registered from the 1560s and 1570s, into the Treasury. Thus, the historic vineyards of Ádám, Árnyék, Cserfás, Messzelátó and Muráth were integrated into the enlarged Szarvas.