Near the town of Tarcal, on the southern slope of the Tokaj Mountain, is the Szarvas vineyard, the finest site in the region, which prior to 1918 had been the Imperial and Royal vineyard for the previous 200 years. Szarvas has long been the outstanding and most distinguished site in the region. Documentation in the region’s archives date back to 16^th Century, the era when Szarvas was part of the Rákóczi Estate.

The Szarvas Tokaji Aszú wines, aged slowly with great care in wooden casks, have an opulent richness and unique balance of freshness and acidity. The south facing lower slopes of the Tokaj mountain are particularly susceptibility to infection with botrytis, caused by the mist which drifts up from the nearby river. This means that in good years high quality Aszú berries are in plentiful supply.

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The Szarvas 'Great first Growth' Vineyard is a 45 hectare Estate designated as one of only two ‘First Great Growth’ sites in the region, in 1737. Its outstanding wines are carefully made and aged in ancient cellars found beneath the C18^th Rákóczi mansion in Tarcal, where the most sought after wines from the region have been made and matured for many generations.

The Estate vineyard consists of 50 hectares of the best land in the region. The former Imperial ‘Szarvas’ vineyard was designated in 1737 as one of only two ‘Great First Growth’ vineyards. The entire wine region was classified and demarcated at this time, the second region in Europe to be classified as such after the Duro in 1705.

Until 1715 the Estate was owned by the Rákóczi family, the leading landowners in the region and Princes of Transylvania. In the 1520s, Most of Hungary (but not the all of the Tokaj region) was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, who were the dominant power until the end of the 17th Century. The Rákóczi family was at the forefront of resistance to the Turkish invasions and also subsequent rule by the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy, who finally defeated the Turks in 1686. In 1867 with the creation of the Dual Monarchy, the Habsburgs were also named as the Hungarian Royal Family.

Szarvas was the most treasured vineyard of the Rákóczi family (they used revenue from the vineyard to finance their rebellions against the Turks and the Habsburgs). In 1715 ownership of the vineyard passed from the Rákóczi family (following their final defeat by the Hapsburgs) to Hungary’s Royal Treasury. The Szarvas vineyard was expanded under subsequent Royal patronage, during the first half of the 18th Century.

In 1867 Szarvas was given the title: ‘Imperial and Royal Court Vineyard’. It continued to supply the Habsburg dynasty until Hungary became a Republic in 1918. For nearly 300 years, distinguished Aszú wines from the Szarvas vineyard, owned by princes, emperors and kings, funded wars of independence and graced the tables of Monarchs, aristocrats and wine lovers across Europe.

Szarvas Tokaji Aszú would have graced the tables of the Habsburg Imperial Family, and other European dynasties, for over 150 years. As ‘Szarvas’ was part of the Royal Estate the wine would have been the most prized Aszú from the Tokaj region during the 18th and early 19th Century.

Hapsburg Emperor Franz Joseph presented Queen Victoria, on her birthday, with Aszú wine from the Tarcal Royal Cellars (a dozen bottles for each year of her life). In 1900 on her 81^st Birthday she received 972 bottles. 100 years later, to celebrate the Queen Mother’s 100^th Birthday, the Hungarian Government and Crown Estates of Hungary presented Her Majesty with a rare bottle of 1900 Aszú wine, from the Crown Estates Museum Cellars.

After 1918, ownership passed, together with the other Great Estates and cellars of the region (such as Oremus and Disznókő), to the Hungarian State until the breakdown of communism in 1989. The Wine Combinat (the predecessor of Tokaj Kereskedőház Rt. and Crown Estates) continued to produce wines from the Szarvas vineyard.

Szarvas Tokaji Aszú wines are still aged slowly, with great care in wooden casks in ancient cellars, under the Rákóczi mansion in Tarcal, to create their opulent balance of freshness and acidity. The vineyard’s south facing location on the slopes of the Tokaj mountain, with a light loess soil and a particular susceptibility to the onset of botrytis or ‘noble rot’ contribute to the outstanding quality of the wines.

For nearly 400 years Szarvas preserved its reputation as the finest and most beautiful vineyard location in this historic wine region. Now owned by Crown Estates of Hungary, Single Estate wines from the Szarvas vineyard are still recognised for their outstanding quality. Wines produced in the vineyard and aged in the ancient cellars under the former Rákóczi mansion in Tarcal are marketed under the Szarvas name.

Extensive renovation of the vineyard is now under way. Currently 19 hectares are being replanted. At the end of this programme Szarvas will extend to 40 hectares. Some of the finest wines currently available from Crown Estates of Hungary are from the Szarvas Single Estate Vineyard