🍇 Hárslevelű

Hárslevelű is a white wine grape that the VIVC catalogue lists as Hungarian. The name means "linden-leaved", and its synonyms in other languages say the same: German Lindenblättrige, French Feuille de tilleul. In Slovakia it is called Lipovina.

Together with Furmint, Hárslevelű is one of the two main varieties of Tokaj: that is how the technical file of the Tokaj/Tokaji appellation marks them. The family link is direct: according to DNA markers (VIVC), Furmint is one parent of Hárslevelű. So the two main Tokaj grapes are not just neighbours on the slopes but parent and offspring.

The variety also has its own appellation, Debrői Hárslevelű. The wine has to contain at least 85 % Hárslevelű, and the file describes its aroma as fruity, with peach and linden blossom. The yield is capped at 100 hl per hectare. The file distinguishes classic and superior wines; for the latter the grapes have to be riper, with higher natural alcohol.

In the Slovak part of Tokaj, "Tokajská Lipovina" is made from Lipovina with no more than 15 % of Furmint and Yellow Muscat. VIVC also records the grape far from Hungary, in South Africa: 597 ha in 1992 and 75 ha in 2008. It has 52 synonyms.

Why it matters to you. "Hárslevelű", "Lipovina" and "Lindenblättrige" are the same grape. In Tokaji wines it often works in tandem with Furmint. If the grape is named on a bottle of EU wine, it makes up at least 85 % of it. Whites are served at 4–10 °C.