Tokaji Wine in Perfumery | Première Peau

Honeyed apricot, mineral, and nobly sweet. Like nosing a glass of 5-puttonyos Tokaji -- the concentrated sweetness of botrytized grapes, the volcanic mineral backbone, and the particular aged-honey quality that only noble rot produces. Richer than ice wine, more complex, more ancient.

Tokaji Aszu is a legendary sweet wine from the Tokaj region of northeastern Hungary, made from grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). The fungus dehydrates the grapes, concentrating their sugars, acids, and aromatics to extraordinary levels.

The aroma of Tokaji is complex: honeyed apricot and peach, candied orange peel, a smoky-mineral quality from the volcanic tuff soil of the Tokaj hills, and a sharp, acid backbone that prevents the sweetness from becoming cloying. Aged Tokaji develops sotolon (burnt sugar), caramel, and oxidative notes.

In perfumery, Tokaji is a fantasy accord capturing this concentrated, noble sweetness. Built from honeyed-fruit materials, apricot esters, sotolon for aged character, mineral accords for volcanic terroir, and acidic-bright elements.

The note functions in the heart-to-base of oriental, gourmand, and wine-themed compositions.