Dessert Wines
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Monbazillac Domaine De Grange Neuve
A fabulous dessert wine, sweet and luscious with fine acidity for a clean finish. The nose is fresh with classic botrytis marmalade and ripe nectarine. Flavors on the palate are rich, with honey and a finishing twist of bitter orange.
The French would serve this as an apéritif but it is also good with paté or blue cheeses such as Roquefort.
Vegetarian, vegan, sustainable.
Vineyards are based in the heart of Perigord, near Bergerac along the valley of the Dordogne river. Here, on the river slopes there is a particular micro-climate which favours the development of the botrytis necessary to make this style of sweet wine. Vines average 25 years of age. Grapes are hand harvested at a very late stage of maturity, in three successive 'triage', to ensure that only the most mature grapes are picked. Grapes are harvested in October and November. Grapes are gently put into a pneumatic press and the juice is transfered to temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. After fermentation the wine is matured for 24 months.
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Cline Cellars Late Harvest Mourvèdre
This wine is luxuriously sweet and divinely tempting. Layers of coffee, chocolate, black berries and prunes dominate but they are beautifully balanced with a firm structure of acid and fine grained tannins.
It is a wonderful accompaniment to rich chocolatey desserts like chocolate mousse, brie with mango chutney, or salted caramel chocolate squares.
Big Break vineyard was chosen for this Late Harvest Mourvèdre. It's planted in deep sand-soil, is dry-farmed, and benefits from the drying winds that blow through Contra Costa County. The vineyard carried a light crop of grapes that ripened and dehydrated to a high sugar content. When the grapes arrived at the winery, the lot was 25% raisined. Working with ultra-ripe raisiny fruit to make this delicious wine had its challenges. The must began to ferment after three days in the tank, with a natural yeast fermentation, contributing to the complexity of the blend. Fermentation progressed and in a matter of three weeks the combination of alcohol and sugar caused the fermentation to draw to a close. The wine was racked to 30% new French oak barrels allowing the fruit flavours to show through without being masked by the oak.
