The diversity of styles of sweet wines is
such a positive feature for wine drinkers who wish to enhance a dessert or
sweet food course. On initial
impressions, they can be gentle, mildly sweet to full-blown and unctuous
replacements for liqueurs. There are
many factors that enable this diversity.
The use of different grape varieties is one of the most important, from
aromatic, high acid to subtle, soft types.
Wines can differ in alcohol content from under 8.0% to around
15.0%. Then there’s the use of botrytised
fruit – or not! Winemaker input can be
very significant, such as the decision to age the wine in oak barrels. And on top of it all, the skill in achieving
balance and quality is enormous. Things
can go terribly wrong when working with grapes that loaded in sugar, acid and
fungal induced rot! All this adds up to
a marvellous array of delicious sweet wines that can not only go with fruit,
desserts and puddings, but there are many that are wonderful as an aperitif, or
be served with all the food courses. And
interestingly, sweeter wines can superbly accompany different ethic cuisines,
especially those with spices and heat!
We offer three very different sweet wines for you to consider:
Trinity
Hill Gimblett Gravels Noble Viognier 2008
Viognier and botrytis is a match made in
heaven. Fully-ripened, the Viognier
variety exudes apricot, honey, citrus zest, ginger and spices, and this is
superbly complemented by the wild honey, apricot, marmalade and perfumed talc
that noble rot can bring. The aromas and
flavours just meld together! Viognier
can be low in acidity; but botrytis concentrates acidity, and balance can
result, as it does with John Hancock’s
Noble Viognier wine. Made from fruit
from Trinity Hill’s holdings in the Gimblett Gravels, raisined fruit was
botrytis infected, the sweet must was fermented in French oak barriques to
12.1% alc and a residual sugar of 190 g/l, the aromatic nature of this wine is
absolutely stunning. It is also elegant
in dimension and structure rending it perfect as an all-round dessert
wine. The 2008 vintage has won gold
medals at the 2009 N.Z. International Wine Show and Hawke’s Bay A&P Wine
Show, continuing the success John has had with this label since the inaugural
2005 vintage.
Seifried
‘Winemakers Collection – Sweet Agnes’ Nelson Riesling Ice Wine 2008
Hermann and Agnes Seifried were pioneers
with the Ice Wine style in New
Zealand when they released Sylvaner and
Gewurztraminer examples in the late 1970s.
This specialist wine style, normally a ‘freak of nature’, can be
replicated by freeze-concentrating techniques of must or fruit, but attaining
balance of the components is extraordinarily difficult. With over three decades of experience, the
Seifrieds are masters of Ice Wine. The
‘Sweet Agnes’ is a tribute to Hermann’s wife, and is simply sensational. Made from 100% Riesling from the Brightwater
and Redwood Valley vineyards showing a high
proportion of shrivel and raisining, the gentle vinification overseen by
daughter Heidi involves freezing the grapes.
This has resulted in a concentrated, lusciously decadent wine with 10.0%
alc and 242 g/l residual sugar. Peach
and nectarine-like fruit feature along with superb acid backbone and zest. The botrytis is absolutely pure and intensely
expressed. Winner of two trophies at the
2009 Decanter Wine Awards, and at least seven gold medals in various New Zealand
and international wine shows.
Alluviale
‘Anobli’ Hawke’s Bay 2008
Many wine lovers would rate Sauternes as
the ultimate in sweet wines, with Chateau d’Yquem being the pinnacle. The ‘Anobli’ is the New Zealand take on this style by
winemaking husband and wife team David Ramonteu, originally from the Jurancon
in France and Kiwi-born Kate Galloway. The name ‘Anobli’ meaning ‘to be made noble
or knighted’, is very appropriate as the wine is made from 100% Sauvignon
Blanc, from Mangatahi in Hawke’s Bay, seriously infected by noble rot. The fruit is fully-ripened and the flavour
profile of figs, quince and tropicals carries the barest vestiges of its
varietal origin in grapefruit nuances.
As with genuine Sauternes, barrel work has added toasted nut and spice
characters which are beginning to complex up and integrate. However, the wine is built for the long-term,
with its excellent acidity. At 11.0%
alc, the wine is in no way overbearing, yet the 270 g/l residual sugar is the
focus. The intensity of the sweetness
requires rich blue cheeses and the most luxurious of desserts, but it would be
a wonderful talking point on its own. It
will give pleasure over the next 8-10 years.
Gold medal and Champion Sweet Wine Trophy at the 2009 Liquorland ‘Top
100’.