What dessert wine did you drink tonight?

WINE TALK
61

1982 Joseph Phelps Special Select Late Harvest Riesling. Californian version of TBA.

62

Thanks for the note Brian. How was it on day 2? I saw this but passed, even though I picked up a ton of the kabi and spĂ€t. It’s still available in 750 and was thinking of picking up a couple.

63

It was a pretty similar showing, maybe some more dried fruit character.

64

1999 Schloss Saarstein Serriger Saarsteiner Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel Auction: 375ml. I think I got this as a Dee Vine closeout back when you could just walk into the warehouse on Pier 19. They had so much crazy stuff for even crazier prices. I’m pretty sure I got a mag of 2001 Erben von Beulwitz Kaseler Nies’chen SpĂ€tlese Alte Reben for under $30, for example. This Saarstein had a price tag of $7.99.

Anyway, though this has a medium gold color appropriate for its age, the overall impression on the nose and palate is that this is still young. That Saar acidity is there in spades, and the honeyed apricot nose comes through on the palate. There’s a lime note on the nose that translates to a key lime pie suggestion on the palate. As with so many of these wonderful MSR bottles, you can just smell it and contemplate for quite a while. I was sipping my pour very slowly and it just kept evolving over an hour or so. Two of us left over half of the bottle, and I look forward to following it through the weekend.

65

2017 Carmes de Rieussec Sauternes
From a 375 ml bottle. This wine offered a cornucopia of yumminess in a fairly light package for little money. Tropical and candied fruit, caramel and toffee, slight hint of botrytis and warm oak. Very enjoyable by itself and with a couple of cheeses (especially Cambozola Black Label), but overwhelmed by a slice of meyer lemon tart. I have generally had good experiences with unpretentious second labels like this and other Sauternes.
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P.S. Did I actually use the word “cornucopia” ?

1 Like
66

1997 Dorigo Verduzzo.

67

2002 Barbeito Bual Campanario Colheita

68

A little late,but last weekend I opened a 1983 Friedrich Heinrich Waldeck Niersteiner Kranzberg Silvaner Beerenauslese.

Not familiar with the producer at all. I’d say this was good, but not special: I enjoyed the aromas and flavors, but the alcohol seemed a touch too high.

69

Guiraud 2009 . A nice drink but not as good as the reviews from the pro’s .

70

1982 Barbeito Frasqueira Boal. I’d like to find more.

71

1982 Barbeito Frasqueira Boal. I’d like to find more

A fantastic wine! It was released once, then Ricardo Freitas, the managing director and winemaker, decided he’s like more cask aging, so he emptied all the bottled wine back into cask for a few more years then released a second time.

72

I love these.

73

1998 Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais Vintage Port.

74

2010 Didier Dagueneau Jurançon 'Les Jardins de Babylone’
Bright and forward with its fruit and floral character, this is then sweet and caressing and easy on the palate - perhaps even a little bit too easy - but has got a corset of acidity around it to keep things under control; Adrian’s note on CellarTracker is spot-on, in that the individual elements of the wine have failed to meld into a cohesive whole, and the result is less than inspiring; it’s still satisfying enough; good minus

75

2005 Chateau de Fargues “Lur Saluces” Sauternes. It was an absolute stunner as the finishing touch on a dinner celebrating the first time our wine group was able to get back together since the pandemic. I wasn’t aware, but read today that this estate is owned by the former owners of D’yquem, which explains quite a bit.

76

Yes indeed, that’s the “Lur Saluces” on the bottle [cheers.gif]

77

2016 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Auslese #11

Gorgeous nose of yellow stone fruits and ripe apple, with just a hint of honey. On the palate, the wine delivered candied tangerine, lime, and some ginger, all balanced by zesty acidity, with some tropical fruit on the pure and lingering finish.

78

Rey Fernando de Castilla PX
Excellent old sherry! Of course it’s rich and sweet, but the years have integrated the sugar well and it’s not cloying at all. Tastes of walnut, raisins, coffee, chocolate and what the missus described as “engine oil in a good way”. There was indeed something vaguely petrochemical in there but it worked very well.
Excellent producer and their “antique” line is worth the extra €€€

79

It’s arguably not a true dessert wine, but I had 2019 Dönnhoff NiederhĂ€user Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel last night. It’s really enjoyable now, and has some great acidity, but I think it will be significantly better once it sheds its baby fat. I think this will be a stunning wine down the road.

I opened this half-bottle about 8 hours before tasting and I have some left to taste as the week progresses.

The only other 2019 Auslese I’ve had so far is the 2019 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Auslese #14 and I think the Donnhoff is currently in a better place.

80

I opened two dessert wines last weekend with friends in my social bubble, only one of them wasn’t supposed to be: Colaneri 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Recioto from Niagara, Ontario and the Marcel Deiss 2011 Huebuhl. Upon tasting the latter before I did, fellow board member Mike Grammer immediately declared out loud, “This is a dessert wine!” I took a sip and completely agreed and to be honest it was quite a shock. I’ve had the Huebuhl before which has always been an off-dry Alsacian but this beyond off-dry and all the way into late harvest territory. It was still super delicious, but so completely not the table wine we were expecting! [wow.gif]

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