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Australian Dessert Wines

Overview

• Buying Guide

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• Aus. Dessert Wines

Buying Guide: Australian Dessert Wines

$11-$20

Campbells NV Rutherglen Muscat Rutherglen $10

Grapes: 100% Rutherglen Muscat (Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains Rouge)
Description: Rich mellowed amber color, with incredibly concentrated grapey, raisiny flavors, but not at all cloyingly sweet.  A pleasant touch of oak and firm acidity give it a lingering array of flavors in the palate.
Comment: The Muscat grapes for this wine are picked very late in the harvest, past ripeness, to give even more of a sugared raisin sweet kick to the wine.  A solera system (the same used in Spanish wine to make Sherry) is used to make the final blend for each release, where a series of differently aged wines are mixed to maintain the house style.
Food pairing: aperitif | bleu cheese | coffee | vanilla ice cream
When to drink: Drink on release
Service temperature: 6°C | 42°F

		R.L. Buller & Son NV Premium Fine Muscat Victoria $16
		D'Arenberg The Noble Chardonnay- Semillon Adelaide $19
		R.L. Buller & Son NV Premium Fine Tokay Victoria $16
		Pfeiffer NV Muscat Rutherglen $18
		Hardys Botrytis Sémillon South Eastern Australia $15
		Yalumba NV Antique Tawny Port Barossa Valley $17
		Heggies Vineyard Botrytis Riesling Eden Valley $15
		De Bortoli Deen De Bortoli Vat 5 Botrytis Sémillon South Eastern Australia $15
		Chambers Rosewood Vineyards NV Muscat Rutherglen $15
		Campbells NV Tokay Rutherglen $19
		Torbreck The Bothie Muscat Barossa Valley $15
		Hardys NV Whiskers Blake Classic Tawny Port South Eastern Australia $13
		D'Arenberg The Noble Riesling McLaren Vale $19
		Campbells NV Tokay Rutherglen $17
		Benjamin NV Tawny Port South Eastern Australia $13
		R.L. Buller & Son NV Premium Fine Tawny Red Blend Victoria $16
		Elderton Riverina Botrytis Sémillon Barossa Valley $17
		Chambers Rosewood Vineyards NV Muscadelle Tokay Rutherglen $15

$21-$30

De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Sémillon New South Wales $29

Grapes: 100% Semillon
Description: The color of this wine can range from a light, pale gold, to a rich, almost 24 carat yellow gold color.  This wine is also brings a whole buffet of sweet fruit flavors: peach, nectarine, flowers and honey, oaky vanilla, butter toffee, sweet spiced orange fruit, crème brulee, marmalade, apricot nectar.  Slight tang on the palate, and intense, with medium body.
Comment: Made just like the great sweet wines of southern Bordeaux, this wine used to actually bear the name Sauternes on the label.  Everything is picked and assembled by hand, and matured in ¼ new French oak barrels
Food pairing: soft mature cheese | desserts
When to drink: Drink on release, or keep up to 15 years
Service temperature: 6°C | 42°F

		Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling Clare Valley $26
		Tamar Ridge Limited Release Botrytis Riesling Tasmania $25
		Marquee NV Selections Classic Tokay Rutherglen $25
		De Bortoli NV Show Liqueur Muscat Hamburg South Wales $22
		Marquee NV Selections Classic Muscat Rutherglen $25
		Margan Botrytis Sémillon Hunter Valley $27
		Primo Estate Joseph La Magia Botrytis Riesling- Traminer White Blend Eden Valley $24
		Marquee NV Tawny Port Port Rutherglen $25
		Three Bridges Golden Mist Botrytis Sémillon Riverina $22
		Plantagenet Off The Rack Chenin Blanc Western Australia $25
		Elderton Botrytis Sémillon Riverina $22
		Nugan Family Estates KLN Botrytis Sémillon Riverina $22

$51+

Grapes: 100% Muscadelle
Description: Dark amber brown, and tasting of soft caramels, toffee, and sugar dusted candied fruit.
Comment: Blended from wines in many different vintages, the wine is aged in cask prior to bottling.
Food pairing: soft mature cheese | desserts
When to drink: This wine is already perfectly aged on release, so drink immediately
Service temperature: 6°C | 42°F

Penfolds NV Great Grandfather Rare Old Liqueur Tawny BarossaValley $70

Grapes: Mourvedre, Shiraz, and Grenache, varying by release
Description: Dark mahogany color with a deep green tinge.  Raisined fruit aromas, with toffee and coffee notes, and an incredibly intense flavor profile marked by concentrated dried fruit flavors with a subtle nuttiness.
Comment: With one of the longest fortified wine traditions in the world (going back over 150 years), Penfolds certainly has the pedigree to create world-class dessert wines.  Their Great Grandfather Tawny is made from the finest components of Penfolds’ other fortified blend, The Grandfather Tawny, and is meant to be the benchmark dessert wine for the iconic winery.  It is, of course, a multi-vintage blend, with some very old wines matched with newer ones via the Spanish solera system.
Food pairing: soft mature cheese | desserts
When to drink: The wine is already aged perfectly on release
Service temperature: 11°C | 51°F

		Campbells NV Isabella Rare Tokay Rutherglen $85
		Campbells NV Merchant Prince Rare Muscat Rutherglen $85
		Chambers Rosewood Vineyards NV Rare Muscat Rutherglen $300
		R.L. Buller & Son NV Calliope Rare Muscat Rutherglen $86
		Chambers Rosewood Vineyards NV Grand Muscadelle Tokay Rutherglen $140

$31-$50

		Stanton & Killeen NV Classic Muscat Rutherglen $35
		De Bortoli NV Black Noble White Blend Australia $38
		Stanton & Killeen NV Classic Tokay Rutherglen $35