Tag Archives: dessert wine

Heidi Schrock & Sohne Spatlese 2024, Burgenland, Austria

26 Sunday Oct 2025

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Pale lemon colored with a watery sheen that shows high viscosity (11.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of honey, tangerine peel, orange marmalade, white blossom, peach candy, lanolin, lemon verbena, and candied ginger.  The palate is  sweet, with medium (+) acidity, and a full body thanks to the residual sugar.  The flavors mirror the nose and run through to a long finish that sits nicely on the palate.  The acidity is masked on the back end but my mouth is watering!  It’s not overly heavy- the body is very nice and balanced.  It’s well made and delicious, worthy of 93 points from me.  I liked it at the winery when we tasted there, but it’s gotten better since I opened this bottle two nights ago.  I wish I had a few for the cellar to watch the evolution.  I found it online at $24 making it a 5 star effort to sip with dessert.  Salut….

Heidi Schrock & Sohne Spatlese

Heidi Schröck & Söhne winery tour

08 Wednesday Oct 2025

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Moxie and I rented a car to get out of Munich post-Oktoberfest so we could travel around Bavaria and Austria.  Some spare time in our schedule allowed me to send a quick request to visit a winery in Rust, on Lake Neusiedl which is south of Vienna.  I chose this winery based on reviews of their wines, particularly the specialty of the region- Ruster Ausbruch.

We were greeted by Johannes, one of the twins in charge of the winery.  He was most gracious and informative, explaining all the wines, followed by a tour of the cellars.  It was a truly fun experience and we left with some treasures to enjoy at home.

My favorite was the Furmint Auslese- golden colored, it had everything I wanted in a dessert wine.  Great acidity, honeyed apricot, sweet but not sickly.  Amazing stuff and well priced.  The reds were good, but I feel this region’s strength lies in the whites and their respective stickies.  The Weissburgunder was en pointe, only being bested by the Rocks & Acid.  The barrel tasting of the Muskateller was interesting, having been racked only once and still unfiltered.  The flavors shone through, a promising wine for sure.

Well worth a visit, it’s only an hour out of Vienna.  I would imagine the town of Rust is packed in the season, there’s even a marina on the lake and quite a few wineries and restaurants.

Salut….

Fattoria della Talosa Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice 1996, Tuscany, Italy

07 Monday Jul 2025

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It’s called Occhio di Pernice, which means Eye of the Partridge- relating to the deep amber color.  This one has a slight haze due to non-filtration and a high viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has intense aromas of walnuts, prunes, candied orange peel, salty caramel, Seaspray, and spun honey.  It’s quite complex. The palate is sweet, with a full body and medium (+) acidity.  The flavors are intense and mirror the nose.  It’s quite an unctuous drop packed full of flavors that layer on themselves.  The sweetness is balanced by the juicy acidity.  This wine begs for a stinky Blue Cheese or super ripe Brie.  The finish is long and silky.  What a treat.  We paid $45 ex-chateau for this 94 pointer that makes it worthy of 5 stars.  It’s just being released after 29 years- shockingly good stuff.  Made predominantly from Sangiovese grapes made in the Vin Santo method.  Drink till 2040.  Salut….

talosa occhio di pernice vin santo di Montepulciano

Real Companhia Velha Quinta das Carvalhas 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal

27 Sunday Apr 2025

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Pale strawberry colored with slight staining, and high viscosity (20% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of chocolate covered raisins, Brazil nuts, blueberry compote, stewed black cherry, old railroad ties, and crushed/dried flower petals.  The palate is semi-sweet with medium (+) acidity, a full body and medium (-) tannins that are fully integrated.  Medium (+) intensity flavors echo the nose but there is a definitive streak of alcohol that burns on the way down.  There’s also a mid palate bitterness and some old wood influence.  The finish is quite long, but unfortunately quite hot as well.  Alcohol does not normally bother me, but this one is incessant.  At $55, it’s not your everyday dessert wine.  It’s a decent drop but I can only go 90 points, making it a 3 star wine.  Pair it with something sweet or cheesy.  Salut…..

Quinta Das Carvalhas 20-Year-Old Tawny Port

Chateau Guiraud 2004, Sauternes, France

21 Monday Apr 2025

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Medium gold colored with high viscosity (13.5% ABV). Medium (+) intensity aromas of honey, apricot, orange marmalade, white flowers, and green almond. The palate is sweet, with medium (+) acidity, and a full body. Medium (+) intensity flavors of spun honey, apricot, orange marmalade, white tea, spicy chai, white blossom, and preserved lemons.  The finish is medium (+) in length,  unctuous, and delicious.  It is evolving nicely and will continue to do so for a few more years. It begs for blue cheese, or a cherry tart.   It’s not as intense as the 2003, scoring a point less as a result.  93 points for this $26 bottle makes it a 5 star effort.  Salut….

chateau girded sauternes

Barboursville Vineyard visit

26 Monday Aug 2024

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I just dropped my youngest off at UVA and decided to re-visit this iconic Virginia winery on the drive home.  I had a great time tasting through their offerings and my hostess was most gracious and fun.  I ended up purchasing some of their Philleo dessert wine- delicious and reasonably priced.  I previously tasted their 2007 Malvaxia so another bottle was secured to do a follow-on tasting in addition to the current release, which is now called Paxxito from the 2019 vintage.  Should be interesting.  Two vintages of the top-level Octagon are also going to be tasted in the near future, such a silky and delicious ageworthy red blend, I can’t wait.  If you’re ever in the central Virginia area or have a free day in the Metro DC suburbs- it’s only a 2 hour drive to visit one of the finest wineries in the Commonwealth.  Salut….

Osborne Pedro Ximenez 1827 Sweet Sherry NV, Andalucia, Spain

30 Sunday Jun 2024

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Deep amber colored with heavy staining and a high viscosity (17% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of stewed prunes, dried nuts, desiccated blueberry, vanilla thread, raisins, Christmas cake and cherry cola syrup.  The palate is very sweet, with medium acidity and a full body that sits heavily on the tongue.  The flavors echo the nose with a touch of heat interfering on the back end.  It’s a luscious wine for sure that has a medium to long finish.  I would pair it with vanilla ice cream or a cheese board with some stinky blue on it.  Delicious stuff but a thimble-full will go a long way.  92 points, and for $32 it gets 5 stars.  Salut….

Kourtaki Mavrodaphne of Patras NV, Peloponnese, Greece

24 Friday May 2024

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Medium garnet colored with high viscosity (15% ABV), which is expected.  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of prune, baked strawberry, walnut, raisins, soaked oak, (wafting alcohol, burning my nostrils!) and dried herbs.  The palate is sweet with medium (+) acidity, a full body and medium tannins.  Flavors of stewed and baked plums, strawberry and blueberry with walnuts, raisins and old oak.  The finish is long, held that way by the potent alcohol yet nicely balanced with acidity and a a touch of tannic grip.  I love dessert wines so this one is a treat to savor after our grilled steaks with blue cheese sauce.  Drink this non-vintage wine on purchase. It gets 87 points from me and for $13, 3 stars. Salut….

Great Western Ravat 51 (Vignobles) 1993, Finger Lakes, New York

21 Thursday Mar 2024

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Medium amber colored with high viscosity (11% ABV).  The nose of this 30 year old dessert wine has medium intensity aromas of prunes, dried figs, caramel, bruised red apple, loam, desiccated mushroom, hazelnut, stewed apricot, spun honey and aged balsamic.  I’m blown away- as this wine has spent countless years sitting upright in my buddy Rewt’s garage, countless Summers and Winters.  The palate is sweet, with 6g/100 ml residual sugar at bottling (aka 60g/L of RS).  There is a veiled level of acidity, it’s quite high but you can’t tell right off the bat.  The flavors are not as complex as the nose but I do get prunes, dried figs, caramel, stewed apricot, dried citrus pith along with it’s bitterness, caramel and a strong Darjeeling tea note on the mid palate (that would explain the loam I got on the nose).  The finish is long and savory, the mushroom and balsamic notes reappearing.  This is a very unique bottle that has stood the test of time and has given me pause- it’s almost like a tawny port with a hint of maderized Riesling.  It’s hard to explain.  I wouldn’t want to settle down to a whole bottle of this stuff, nor do I think it has the structure to pair with rich desserts but I will have a glass after dinner and see how it goes.  Salut….

Benjamin Darnault Domaine De Montahuc Vin Doux Naturel 2019, Saint Jean de Minervois, France

11 Monday Dec 2023

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Pale lemon colored with high viscosity (15% ABV).  The nose of this dessert wine has intense aromas of honey, orange marmalade, bruised red apple, a hint of apricot and a touch of vanilla bean. The palate is sweet with medium (+) acidity and a full body.  The wine starts out bitter right off the bat, the astringency is akin to candied grapefruit pith.  The marmalade and honey notes come along with some vanilla and red apple.  The mid palate is where the wine settles down and the honey, marmalade and apricot come to the forefront.  The finish is long and sweet, syrupy and delicious.  I think it needs a bit of air TBH.  Right now, it gets 88 points from me but it could improve with some time.  Cellaring capacity is probably good- say till 2030.  I paid $19 for a 500 ml bottle, making it a 3 star effort.  Salut….