Tag Archives: dessert wine

Beaulieu Vineyard Muscat de Beaulieu NV, California

10 Thursday Feb 2022

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Medium gold in color this dessert wine has medium intensity aromas of honey, stewed apricot, cooked red apple and orange peel- not overly complex.  The palate is very slippery.  Medium (-) acidity, full body, medium intensity flavors of honey, orange pith, stewed apricot, and that orange peel.  I didn’t get the apple note btw.  It’s got weight  and a nice mouthfeel but the depth of fruit flavor is lacking.  I like it for a basic after-dinner treat on a weekday that runs $20 per half bottle that gets 86 points from me and 2 stars.  18% ABV btw.  Salut….

Barboursville Vineyards Malvaxia 2007, Virginia, USA

26 Tuesday May 2020

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Golden brown in the glass, appropriate for a 13 year old.  On the nose it has hazelnut, honey, orange peel, quince and Marmalade.  The palate is quite tart with orange reduction, more honey, nuts, nutmeg and Cointreau.  It’s nicely balanced with acidity, fruit, unctuous mouthfeel and loads of orange Marmalade.  The thickness of the wine is really delicious, it gives warmth and body to the elixir.  The mid palate concentrates on the oranges, with the sweetness of honey and apricots.  The finish is medium in length but full on with more oranges, sweet syrup and some tart acidity that balances out the sugars.  91 points. Drink now till 2030.  Delicious, a real treat after all these years in the cellar.  Newer vintages can be had for $35 per half bottle.  5 stars.  Salut….

Mellasat Tuin Wyn 2011, Paarl, South Africa

06 Tuesday Mar 2018

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We were over at our South African friend’s house for dinner and the hostess pulled this unfortified dessert gem out.  I was not in much of a state to make notes, but I did scratch these down:  Nose is unique- lanolin, beeswax, lemon curd, and turmeric.  Orange marmalade and apricot jam are the key components on the palate.  The finish is mid length, more orange notes yet the curry component still lingers.  It is truly bizarre yet somewhat intriguing.  I enjoyed it and appreciated the nuances of variety, the terroir differences and the subtle changes in style.  89 points from me and without any pricing info it’s hard to give it points.  This Chenin Blanc is tasty and will pair beautifully with some Blue Cheese, Creme Brûlée or even some chocolate eclairs!  Salut….

Chateau Guiraud 2006, Sauternes, France

02 Saturday Sep 2017

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Gold, but a lighter shade.  It looks waxy when I swirl the glass, which bodes well for a dessert wine.  On the nose it is sublime- apricots, honey, candied pineapple.  On the palate this wine is super smooth, somewhat oily in texture and really delicious.  I get yellow stone fruits- apricots, peach jam and some honey on the initial attack.  The mid palate is silky but I just realized I sense no acidity whatsoever.  Glycerin comes to mind when trying to describe the texture I feel on the mid palate.  The finish is somewhat dry with a hint of tannins and now I see the emergence of some acidity.  Well played Mr. Winemaker, it all comes together right at the end and makes sense.  The finish has great fruit notes- in addition to the apricots, there are some almond hints, orange zest and a pineapple streak.  Lovely.  This is a generous dessert wine that has a nice unctuous texture, plenty of fruit, a nice mouthfeel and the ability to age for decades.  It is young but really enjoyable now.  Drink till 2035 easily.  95 points.  I paid $28 for a half bottle – 5 stars.   It was my dessert after grilling the most massive Tomahawk steaks ever.  Salut….


Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port, Amador County, USA

01 Thursday Jun 2017

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This is a Port wine made from Zinfandel grapes in California.  Rich, dark purple in the glass.  The nose is stewed plum and vanilla cola.  The initial taste is rather abrupt-  plum compote, raisins and a balsamic note.  Acidic without a bite, but a touch of tannin keep this dessert wine balanced.  The finish is decent in length but the flavor is rather medicinal.  Its 19% alcohol is well hidden.  This wine is delightful and interesting, certainly not what I was expecting.  90 points from me.  I paid $22 for it which makes it a 3 star effort.  Salut….

Penfolds Club Tawny Port, Australia

26 Friday May 2017

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The last time I had an Australian Port was in 1999, in Sydney.  It never really dawned on me to search them out.  I recently got back into Port drinking and just ordered 10 different bottles to try out.  This is the first of them and I am looking forward to this adventure.

The newly arrived Ports

In the glass it resembles it’s style-tawny…  It has a brownish, purply tinge to the see-through base.  The nose is nutty, with plum reduction and a hint of oak.  There is a certain youth to go along with the mellowed out nuances in the nose of this aged wine.    On the palate- orange marmalade, raisins and hazelnut mingle with a plum base.  The wine is slightly syrupy and shows nice legs in the glass.  The 18% alcohol is well masked and there is a trace of very fine grained tannins running through the mid palate and on to the long finish.  Speaking of which, the finish has more of the orange notes I got on the opening as well as some oak, almond and raisin.  It lasts a while, with not much sign of the alcohol at all.  Overall this is a very tasty dessert wine that has aged nicely and is ready for business.  I’m going with 90 points and for $19 this is a 4 star effort.  Salut….

enfolds club tawny port

Chateau Sigalas Rabaud 2010, Sauternes, France

22 Monday May 2017

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Dark golden yellow.  Honey, apricot jam and grilled pineapple on the nose. The initial tastes are very waxy, oily and full of apricot. This wine is super smooth with balanced acidity, botritized fruit and a delicious flavor profile.  Heaps of apricot jam fill the profile with tertiary flavors of honeysuckle and bee pollen filling in on the mid palate.  The finish shows great tannic structure with a very gentle acidity.   I’m shocked about the tannins on this dessert wine, but they lurk- ever so gently.  This is a solid wine that will last decades.  Drink now till 2030.  It can be found for $25 per half bottle and gets 95 points from me.  5 stars for sure and probably one of the finest dessert treats I have had in a long time.  Salut….
Chateau Sigalas Rabaud, Sauternes, France

Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2006

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

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I do love me some dessert wines…  I couldn’t resist this one, it got high marks and the price was right.

It started with an interesting nose of cork (not in a bad way), apricot jam and tangerine peel.

An initial taste of orange marmalade, honey and almond seeds. Golden color was intriguing. Orange peel and candied almonds hit on the middle palate and the finish gives way to the same marmalade notes I sensed on the front end. A definite botrytis tinge throughout. Best described as orange treacle. I’m going 90 points on this wine versus the pros. It’s decent, but not my favorite sticky.  Pro ratings up to 93 points and costing $37, I was somewhat caught off-guard.  This is a 3 star wine in my opinion and needs to be drunk before 2022.  Salut….

guiraud sauternes

Chateau Doisy-Vedrines 2011

27 Monday Oct 2014

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To top off our Sunday Roast dinner I pulled this amazing beauty out of the cellar and let it loose.  I had tasted the Doisy-Vedrines 2010 previously and needed an equally big night to taste this vintage.  After thoroughly loving the Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon with our dinner it was appropriate to get this bottle cracking.  I previously gave the 2010 95 points, how would this one hold out?

Golden yellow in the glass with a nose of honey, candied pear, botrytis and peach cobbler.  Almond crisp with apricot torte and honeyed pears came in the first wave.  Pineapple syrup with flowers and citrus fill the mid palate along with some pear pie, absolutely gorgeous. Sublime balance with a razor sharp acidity and 60 second finish make this a near perfect wine.  Top to bottom- a smooth transition, 96 point plus for me.  I noticed huge legs in the glass and had to double check the bottle, 13.5 % alcohol but nary a sign of it.  One final thought….Uncious but not stuffy.  I paid $22 for this stunner worthy of 5 stars.  Ps. I bought all they had of the two vintages!  Salut….

doisy vedrines sweet wine

Doisy-Vedrines Sauternes 2010

29 Friday Aug 2014

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Last weekend I had a big tasting night planned.  The Clarendon Hills Syrah was the opener.  I was then planning on doing a mini vertical of this wine with a 2011.  Problem is that I absolutely loved this bottle and ended up finishing it and saving the other one for another night.  I laid out two cheeses to go along with the sweet dessert wines.  They deserve their own blog posts- simply out of this world.The wine was poured into my Riedel dessert glass where it showed off a light golden color and had a nose of apricots, honey and almond chips. I made note of a classy smoothness with light botrytis in the initial attack. Honey and melon jam came to mind after letting the wine swirl a bit. The first sensation was of light acidity which became cutting on the mid palate. Apricot tart with a sweet minerality on the back end was a really nice way to tail it off but I was in for a surprise. I timed a rather long finish over 90 seconds which added some cloying sweetness and hazelnuts on the finale. Exquisite and worthy of 95 points from me. Here’s the bonus….. it’s only $20 and I’m buying all I can get in 375ml bottles. If you like sweet wines, this one is an absolute stunner. 5 stars for this sticky. Salut….

The original lineup, 2010 and 2011 Doisy-Vedrines

The original lineup, 2010 and 2011 Doisy-Vedrines

The cheese course, out the park with these two!

The cheese course, out the park with these two!

doisy vedrines